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.IV 


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W)<m  . 


ARCHITECTURAL  BOOKS 


BUILDING  SUPERINTENDENCE. 

By  T.  M.  Clark,  Architect.  One  volume.  8vo.  Illus- 
trated with  plans,  diagrams,  etc.  $3.00. 

This  volume  is  based  on  a series  of  thirty  or  more  care- 
fully prepared  papers,  originally  contributed  to  The  A meri- 
can  Architect , and  now  revised  and  augmented,  and  pub- 
lished in  handsome  and  permanent  form.  Every  one  who 
is  (or  is  about  to  be)  interested  in  the  practical  problems  of 
house-building,  should  own  this  book. 


MODERN  PERSPECTIVE. 

A Treatise  upon  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  Plane  and 
Cylindrical  Perspective.  By  W.  R.  Ware,  Professor  of 
Architecture  in  the  School  of  Mines,  Columbia  College.  1 
vol.  i2mo.  321  pages,  with  27  plates  in  a portfolio,  $5.00. 

By  far  the  most  exhaustive  of  modern  works  on  the 
subjects  relating  to  perspective,  and  of  great  value  to  all 
architects  and  artists,  and  others  interested  in  the  problems 
of  Art.  The  scientific  and  pictorial  aspects  of  these  investi- 
gations are  carefully  and  thoroughly  considered,  both  inde- 
pendently and  in  their  connection  with  drawing;  and  the 
propositions  of  the  author  are  illustrated  by  plates  of  archi- 
tectural objects  and  perspective  plans. 

Sent,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  price,  by 

TICKNOR  <&  COMPANY, 


BOSTON. 


TUn  1 Mnru  C ni'+nm  ’ fFnrau^+irY 


MURAL  PAINTING 


BY 

FREDERIC  CROWNINSHIELD 


ILLUSTRATED 


BOSTON 

TICKNOR  AND  COMPANY 
1887 


Copyright,  1886, 

By  Ticknor  and  Company. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


W.  F.  Brown  and  Company,  Printers, 
218  Franklin  St.,  Boston. 


VHE  GETTY  CENTER 
LIBRARY 


PREFACE. 


TITHE  following  chapters  originally  appeared  as  “pa- 
* pers  ” in  the  American  Architect.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  those  few  verbal  changes  which  their  present 
and  more  formal  garb  has  necessitated,  together  with 
the  slight  emendations  and  additions  that  time  and 
fresh  material  have  suggested,  their  substance  is  the 
same.  It  would  have  been  useless  to  attempt  to  dis- 
guise their  “periodical”  character,  which  will  account 
for  the  enforced  and  otherwise  unwarrantable  conden- 
sation. Had  their  length  or  subsequent  publication  in 
book-form  been  originally  foreseen,  much  valuable  in- 
formation might  have  been  drawn  from  distant  sources 
that  would  have  greatly  enriched  them  both  as  to  text 
and  illustration.  But  the  first  intention  was  far  more 
limited  and  modest,  and  when  afterwards  the  work  grew 
prodigiously  under  the  inspiration  of  the  subject,  it  was: 
then  too  late. 

The  inadequacy  of  ordinary  methods  of  reproduction 
to  an  intelligible  exposition  of  the  qualities  peculiar  to 
mural  painting  has  necessarily  curtailed  the  number  of 
illustrations.  The  linear  interpretation  of  a picture  is 
not  without  value,  seeing  that  it  translates  the  composi- 
tion, forms,  and  often  the  light  and  shade.  For  these 
reasons  it  has  been  utilized ; but  it  gives  no  insight 
whatever  into  those  technical  peculiarities  that  differ- 
entiate one  process  from  another : it  would  not  tell  us, 


IV 


PREFACE. 


for  example,  whether  the  prototype  were  executed  in 
fresco,  oil,  or  water  glass ; nor  does  it  portray  the  actual 
condition  of  the  work,  a matter  of  the  highest  import. 
The  gelatine  print  is  the  only  form  of  reproduction  that 
adequately  conveys  this  information.  Unfortunately, 
gelatine  prints  are  expensive,  and  a liberal  use  of  them 
would  have  defeated  the  very  end  in  view  — a perhaps 
over-sanguine  hope  that  my  labors  may  prove  service- 
able to  artists,  whose  purses  are  rarely  as  plethoric  as 
their  desires.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that 
gelatine  prints,  even  more  than  photographs,  are  apt  to 
exaggerate  the  deterioration  of  a painting,  and  some- 
times give  a diseased  and  shabby  appearance  to  a pro- 
totype that  is  comparatively  sound. 

The  publication  of  this  volume,  notwithstanding  its 
incompleteness,  must  be  justified  by  the  immediate  im- 
portance of  the  subject,  the  vast  scope  for  mural  deco- 
ration now  offered  by  an  extraordinary  building  activity 
-—an  activity  that  is  likely  to  continue  for  years  — and 
by  the  very  misty  ideas  that  are  entertained  of  its 
technics  by  architect,  client,  and  would-be  practitioner. 
Even  an  indifferent  treatise  at  this  important  juncture 
would  be  better  than  none  at  all.  Without  further 
apology,  therefore,  I dedicate  this  little  work  most  affec- 
tionately to  my  pupils.  Should  any  of  them,  through 
its  means,  be  induced  to  practise  monumental  painting, 
the  noblest  form  of  all  pictorial  expression,  I shall  deem 
myself  well  content. 


1886. 


F.  C. 


CONTENTS 


Introductory  Remarks 1 

Encaustic  and  Tempera  of  the  Ancients.  . . 17 

The  Wall 27 

Modern  Encaustic 37 

Fresco.  48 

Byzantium  and  Mt.  Athos 59 

Byzantine  Fresco 73 


Durability  of  Fresco. — Its  Present  Possibilities. — 
Fresco  compared  with  Wax-Painting. — 


Fresco-Secco 84 

Oil-Painting 95 

Water-Glass 108 

The  Education  and  Qualifications  of  the  Mural 

Painter 121 

Notes. 141 


Illustrations. 


147 


FULL  PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


I.  The  ‘Muse  of  Cortona’  (Encaustic). 

II.  ‘The  Resurrection’  (Fresco)  by  Giotto  (1276-1437). 
Arena  Chapel,  Padua. 

III.  ‘2Eneas  Piccolomini  created  Cardinal  by  Pope 

Camixtus  III  ’ (Fresco)  by  Pinturicchio  (1454- 
1513).  Library,  Siena. 

IV.  ‘ Erythraean  Sibyl  ’ (Fresco)  by  Michael  Angelo 

(1474-1564).  Sistine  Chapel,  Rome. 

V.  ‘ The  Temptation  ’ (Fresco)  by  Raphael  Sanzio 
(1483-1520).  Stanze  of  the  Vatican,  Rome. 

VI.  ‘Mansuetudo’  (Oil-Painting)  by  F.  Penni  (1488?- 
1528),  and  Guilio  Romano  (1492?-1546).  Hall  of 
Constantine,  Vatican. 

This  illustration  is  given  to  show  the  deterioration  of  oil  painting. 

VII.  ‘Jupiter  and  Juno  ’ (Fresco)  by  Annibale  Carracci 
(1569-1609).  Farnese  Palace,  Rome. 

VI [I.  ‘Recompense’  (Oil  Painting)  by  Paul  Veronese 
(1528-1588),  Ceiling,  Sala  del  Collegio,  Ducal 
Palace,  Venice. 

IX.  Ceiling  in  Church  of  S.  Maria  del  Rosario,  or  ‘I 
Gesuati,’  Venice,  (Fresco).  Tiepolo  (Giovanni 
Battista,  1697-1770). 

X.  Oil  Paintings  for  the  Decoration  of  the  Luxem- 
bourg Palace  (now  in  the  Louvre)  by  Peter 
Paul  Rubens  (1577-1640). 

XI.  ‘Minerve  Elevant  Le  Genie  vers  l’empyree.’ 

Drawing  in  Black  and  White  for  a Ceiling,  by 
Prud’hon  (Pierre,  1760-1825). 

XII.  ‘Les  Saintes  Penitentes.’  Church  of  S.  Vincent  de 

Paul,  Paris.  By  Hyppolyte  Flandrin  (1809-1864). 


FIGURES  in  the  text. 


Headpiece 1 

Personification  of  Encaustic  from  Pompeii.  . . 8 

From  Pompeii 17 


FIGURES  IN  THE  TEXT. 


Ancient  Cestra 20 

Modern  Encaustic  Tools. 22 

A Paintress  at  Work  — Pompeii 25 

Vultures  on  a Ceiling 26 

Sketch  by  Gros  for  Dome  of  Pantheon.  . . 27 

From  a Drawing  by  Raphael. 37 

Palette 40 

Lamp-Stand. 43 

Tracing  with  Dotted  Lines 57 

Design  by  Paul  Durand 59 

Monastery  on  Mt.  Athos — Byzantine  Engraving.  61 


Mural  Painting  from  Mt.  Athos.  . 

u u a a a 

a u a a 

u u a a a 

Drawing  by  Paul  Durand. 
Tailpiece  — Ceiling. 

Seal  from  Mt.  Athos. 

From  Mt.  Athos 


Philosophy,  by  Raphael  — Vatican 84 

Augustus  and  the  Sibyl.  By  Baldassare  Peruzzi.  89 

From  a Drawing  by  Titian 95 

Sala  del  Collegio,  Ducal  Palace,  Venice.  . . 98 

Panel,  by  Veronese,  Ducal  Palace,  Venice.  . . 100 

Pro  Patria  Ludus.  By  Puvis  de  Chavannes.  . 104 

From  the  Fresco  by  Julius  Schnorr,  Royal  Palace, 

Munich . . . .108 

The  Industrial  Arts  applied  to  War.  By  Sir  F. 

Leighton. 114 

From  the  Fresco  by  Julius  Schnorr,  Royal  Palace, 

Munich. 119 

Study  for  Paul  Baudry’s  Ceiling 121 

From  a Drawing  by  Raphael 135 

The  Glorification  of  the  Law.  By  Paul  Baudry.  137 
Entombment  of  St.  Catherine.  By  Bernardino  Luini.  140 


62 

64 

66 

68 

70 

72 

73 


V 


‘The  Resurrection’  (Fresco)  bv  Giotto  (1276-1337)  A TPH3  Phanpl 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


TITHE  glories  of  mural  painting  have  lately  been  eclipsed  by  the 
\lk  predominating  popularity  of  its  younger  sister,  the  easel  pic- 
ture. The  eclipse  has  not  been  total,  and,  given  the  proper 
impetus,  its  sun  may  yet  shine  with  more  than  pristine  splendor. 
True,  the  pictorial  story-telling  age  is  gone,  at  least  for  us.  The 
A B C’s  of  history,  the  quondam  all-sufficient  biblical  narratives 
are  no  longer  gleaned  from  temple  walls ; prosaic  type  has  usurped 
their  functions.  Rising  generations  imbibe  more  copious  draughts 
from  more  generous  fonts.  Didactical  painting  is  no  longer  the 
principal,  merely  an  accessory,  though  not  a valueless  one.  Picture- 
writing  is  evidence  of  savagery.  Painting  has  other  spheres,  though 
many  deluded  painters  (and  musicians)  still  cling  to  the  story-telling 
idea,  and  try  to  churn  out  of  poor  paint  (and  sound)  with  a labor  to 
which  the  mountain’s  travail  is  as  naught,  ideas  that  the  pen  of  poet 
can  jot  down  with  a facility  that  must  ever  be  their  despair.  From 
the  time  that  man  was  man  — and  that  we  fain  must  believe  was  at 
least  a million  years  ago — he  has  had  a heart,  and  it  is  probable  that 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


he  will  continue  to  have  one,  unless  the  wise  men  of  the  earth  evolu- 
tionize  it  out  of  him  again,  till  this  world  is  chilled  to  its  marrow,  and 
for  mere  warmth’s  sake  drops  into  the  sun.  Now,  at  least,  good 
mother  earth  is  warm.  Men  live  on  her  and  feel.  Yes,  ’tis  the 
feeling  that  is  the  fun  of  it  as  well  as  the  sorrow.  An  unemotional 
entity  would  be  about  as  sympathetic  as  the  snow-man  of  the  winter- 
loving  urchin. 

Art  is  the  high-priest  of  the  emotions,  the  great  humanizer.  To 
humanize  the  million  is  one  of  the  problems  of  the  day.  Mural 
painting,  above  all  other  kinds,  is  for  the  million.  Its  dignity,  its 
simplicity,  its  light,  airy  tones  are  wonderfully  impressive,  even  to 
the  uncultivated.  Its  mere  accessibility  is  greatly  in  its  favor ; so 
too  its  intimacy  with  the  structure.  Mural  painting  is  no  movable 
exotic,  but  an  actual  part  of  the  habitation.  Art  should  be  all- 
embracing.  Of  course  there  is  an  esoteric  art,  very  charming  to  the 
elect,  just  as  there  is  an  esoteric  literature ; but,  completely  to  fulfil 
its  mission,  art  must  be  exoteric.  What  better  vehicle  for  a univer- 
sal, beneficent  art  than  the  wall?  As  for  wall-space,  actual  and 
potential  in  this  land,  the  brain  reels  to  think  of  it.  For  ages  custom 
has  sanctioned  the  painted  wall  of  temple,  capitol  and  theatre ; but 
what  glorious  opportunities  are  offered  by  the  walls  of  our  colossal 
railroad  stations,  our  public  halls,  our  mammoth  hotels  and  costly 
restaurants,  our  vast  stores ! Paint  them,  and  the  people  would  be 
brought  face  to  face  with  art  in  the  daily  routine  of  life,  and  absorb 
it  as  children  absorb  a foreign  language.  Instead  of  the  occasional 
visit  of  a few  to  some  remote  museum  of  fine  arts,  or  to  a fee-exact- 
ing exhibition,  there  would  be  the  effortless,  expenseless  communion 
with  art  at  all  times.  Art,  like  religion,  should  be  an  every-day 
affair.  Museums  are  oases  in  a Sahara  of  bad  taste  (and  blessed  be 
their  founders !),  but  they  are  not  enough.  Of  necessity  they  are 
exclusive.  We  ought  to  live  with  art.  Beginnings,  humble  begin- 
nings have  already  been  made  to  decorate  some  of  our  large  struct- 
ures. Unfortunately  these  efforts  have  not  been  universally  success- 
ful, owing  rather  to  lack  of  practitioners  and  good  taste  than  to  lack 
of  money.  Yet  bad  taste  is  not  infrequently  better  than  no  taste  at 
all,  since  it  may  lead  to  better  things.  The  habit  of  decoration  once 
acquired,  the  bad  will  eventually  be  replaced  by  the  good.  That 
stupid  negative  doctrine  advanced  so  persistently  and  with  such  puri- 
tanical priggishness  by  some  people  of  so-called  “ good  form,”  that  a 
room  or  a house  must  be  bare — “chaste”  and  “simple,”  they  say  — 
that  “ beauty  must  be  unadorned,”  means  artistic  famine.  This  neg- 
ative doctrine,  by  the  way,  is  germane  to  the  modern  Anglo-Saxon 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


3 


tendency  to  suppress  emotion.  Hamerton,  in  a capital  chapter 
( 1 Unrecognized  Untruth  ’ : Human  Intercourse)  remarks,  “ Over- 
statement is  regarded  as  a vice,  and  understatement  as  a sort  of  mod- 
est virtue,  whilst  in  fact  they  are  both  untruthful,  exactly  in  the 
degree  of  their  departure  from  perfect  accuracy/’  The  latter  kind 
of  untruth  he  calls  the  “ untruthfulness  .by  inadequacy.”  To  estab- 
lish a learned  balance  between  the  blank  and  ornamented  spaces 
is  the  effort  of  all  good  architects  and  decorators.  This  quality,  the 
essence  of  successful  ornamentation,  is  a source  of  ineffable  delight 
to  the  beholder. 

By  mural  painting  I do  not  mean  geometrical  design  merely,  or 
purely  conventional  ornament,  but  rather  figure-work,  combined  per- 
haps with  conventional  ornament,  or  that  sort  of  design  where  a free 
imagination  seems  to  dominate  the  rule  and  compass,  and  which  cer- 
tainly would  not  be  repeated  indefinitely  without  modification.  This 
is  a somewhat  lame  definition  — certain  things  never  can  be  defined — 
but  one,  I trust,  that  will  be  felt.  A repeated  pattern  or  diaper  is 
well  enough  at  times,  but  alone  in  an  important  edifice  does  not  suf- 
fice. It  may  play  the  part  of  accessory,  but  cannot  fill  the  prota- 
gonist’s role.  Though  there  are  splendid  historical  exceptions,  it 
may  be  said  that  a geometrical  pattern,  interlacement  or  the  like, 
however  ingenious,  unaided  by  the  figure  or  other  important  motive 
from  nature,  tends  to  produce  a very  irritating  mental  effect,  when, 
as  has  just  been  observed,  it  covers  large  spaces  in  important  inte- 
riors. It  seems  to  torment  the  brain  instead  of  refreshing  it,  appeal- 
ing to  the  imagination  in  a measure,  but  working  it  as  mathematics 
work,  without  soothing  it.  How  sterile,  merely  for  an  example,  and 
starved  is  a theatre  without  the  graceful,  eloquent,  suggestive  forms 
of  the  human  figure. 

There  are  those  who  still  believe  in  the  oft-cited  but  false  principle 
that  mural  figures  should  be  treated  only  in  outlined  flat  tints.  They 
hold  that  modelled  forms  will  conflict  with  the  architecture.  The 
proper  thing  to  do  is  to  make  the  figures,  modelled  or  not,  look  well 
in  their  given  places.  If  they  discord  with  the  architecture,  they 
will  surely  not  look  well.  Painters  of  experience  would  never  try  to 
make  their  figures  “ come  out  from  the  wall  ” — not  such  an  easy 
thing,  by  the  way,  to  do  if  they  use  colors  and  mediums  suited  to  the 
work.  And  if  by  chance  the  figures  should  come  a little  too  far  for- 
ward, though  it  is  better  that  they  should  not,  would  it  be  a very 
heinous  offence  ? Would  it  be  half  so  heinous  as  the  frequent  cur- 
rent practice  of  shading  the  ground-tone  of  a wall  from  light  above  to 
dark  below,  or  vice-versa,  so  that  the  wall  appears  to  topple  ? This 


4 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


question  of  relief  will  be  handled  in  a subsequent  article  on  the  tech- 
nics of  mural  painting.  After  a few  prefatory  and  somewhat  erratic 
observations,  I intend  to  describe  technically  some  of  the  principal 
methods  of  wall-painting,  and  to  conclude  with  a few  observations  on 
the  personal  qualifications  of  the  painter. 

It  cannot  be  denied  there  are  conditions  that  antagonize,  as  well  as 
those  that  favor,  the  development  of  mural  painting  in  this  country. 
The  fluctuation  of  wealth  is  against  it.  Fathers  make  a fortune; 
their  sons  dissipate  it.  The  equal  distribution  of  the  parental  prop- 
erty is  not  conducive  to  the  maintenance  of  the  family  mansion. 
The  denial  of  the  rights  of  primogeniture  means  the  non-erection  of 
those  stupendous  monuments  of  family  pride,  the  glory  of  their  own 
and  succeeding  ages,  with  which  every  traveller  is  familiar.  There 
is,  moreover,  a general  feeling  that  socially  we  are  living  in  a transi- 
tional age.  Ho  one  dares  to  discount  the  future.  Mighty  agencies 
are  at  work  that  render  the  prolonged  tenure  of  property  a matter  of 
doubt.  Formerly  a patrician  built  for  eternity  ; to-day  every  man  is 
a patrician  and  builds  for  his  lifetime.  The  concentration  of  art  in 
the  palaces  of  a lordly  few  is  giving  place  to  its  diffusion  over  the 
whole  land.  In  the  palmiest  days  of  Grecian  art  the  private  houses 
were  simple,  the  public  places  resplendent.  This  is  somewhat  consol- 
ing. Doubtless  there  will  always  be  exceptional  houses  dominating 
their  neighbors,  at  least,  till  the  millenium  sets  in.  On  the  other  hand 
the  average  house  promises  to  be  luxurious,  vastly  more  so  than  the 
average  Grecian  house  in.  the  time  of  Pericles.  There  are  opportuni- 
ties for  artistic  work  of  a high  order,  even  in  comparatively  modest 
houses.  If  people  would  only  learn  to  husband  their  resources,  to  con- 
centrate it  on  given  points,  and  not  to  fritter  it  away  in  useless  deco- 
ration from  attic  to  cellar,  to  indulge  in  a little  more  cream  and  a 
great  deal  less  skim-milk.  It  is  the  cream  that  stamps  a house,  pro- 
claiming the  taste  of  the  owner.  How  many  a quiet  fa9ade,  or  plain- 
toned  wall  has  been  dignified  by  a delicately-carved  moulding  or  a 
sweetly-painted  frieze  ? People  always  economize  at  the  wrong  mo- 
ment, forgetting  that  the  few  last  touches  are  the  most  telling  ones. 
Here  let  it  be  observed,  parenthetically,  that  though  artists  have  always 
been  blamed  for  their  unbusinesslike  qualities,  per  contra , in  matters 
of  taste,  there  is  no  one  more  unbusinesslike  than  the  business  man. 
So  skilfully  does  he  scheme  at  times  to  get  the  worst  thing  possible ! 
Bad  taste  is  about  as  expensive  as  good  taste,  though  the  latter  in 
the  end  is  a more  profitable  investment.  What  fruitful  property  the 
paintings  and  frescoes  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  have 
proved  to  be  1 Hear  what  Morelli  says  of  the  Sistine  Madonna  : “ It 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


5 


cost  Saxony  about  two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  francs.  What 
price  would  it  now  fetch,  when  a Murillo  has  been  thought  worth 
seven  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  francs  ! None  but  a Rothschild 
could  afford  to  buy  it.  If  the  picture  were  still  standing  in  its  little 
church  of  S.  Sisto  at  Piazenza,  not  only  would  that  town  be  more 
talked  of  and  more  visited  than  it  is,  but  that  picture  alone  would 
bring  the  inhabitants  more  gain  than  all  they  possess  besides.”  1 A 
first-class  Raphael  in  Broadway  would  probably  yield  better  dividends 
than  the  most  favored  railroad  stock.  This  is  an  extreme  case  ; yet 
one  may  guess  that  the  bar-room  Bouguereau  has  paid  handsomely. 
Though  I cannot  speak  authoritively,  I am  inclined  to  think  that  a 
house  with  a little  tasteful  decoration  would  let  better  than  a house 
with  a great  deal  of  offensive  decoration,  other  things  being  equal. 
Again,  when  a building  is  condemned,  the  good  things  are  saved. 

That  mammon  of  unrighteousness,  the  speculative  builder,  is  the 
avowed  enemy  of  good  decoration  (and  of  mankind).  Judging 
from  the  cracked,  peeling,  spotted  and  generally  demoralized  walls, 
ceilings  and  stucco-work  to  be  found  in  nine  houses  out  of  ten,  one 
is  tempted  to  dub  all  plasterers  and  builders  — I don’t  dare  to  add 
architects  — mammons  of  unrighteousness.  Seriously,  our  plaster- 
work  is  disheartening,  totally  unfit  to  receive  mural  paintings  of 
value.  Its  amelioration  is  well  worth  the  earnest  attention  of  all 
conscientious  architects.  General  shabbiness  ought  not  to  supervene 
after  a few  years  of  use.  Even  paint,  if  properly  laid  on  a firm 
ground,  and  in  the  right  place,  should  hold  for  generations,  to  judge 
from  the  paintings  that  have  come  down  to  us  from  antiquity.  Dura- 
bility is  a noble  quality,  yet  held  apparently  in  light  esteem.  Per- 
ishable substitutes  do  duty  for  stone,  terra-cotta  and  the  hard  woods. 
Inferior  plaster  is  hastily  spread  over  flimsy,  inflammable  furrings. 
and  as  a consequence  threatening  fissures  are  speedily  developed. 
This  lack  of  durability  is  often  disguised  by  upholsterers’  work, 
that  soon  deteriorates.  How  inherent  is  the  taste  for  upholstery ! 
How  people  love  it!  Verily,  the  moth  has  its  functions.  Akin  to 
the  taste  for  upholstery  is  the  application  of  incongruous  and  inap- 
propriate materials  to  alien  surfaces.  It  is  a pleasure  to  feel  that 
a design  is  made  for  the  place,  congenital  with  it;  not  an  applied, 
interrupted  design,  that  might  as  well  have  veneered  anything  else 
(interrupted  designs  are  rarely  satisfactory).  Call  to  mind  the 
patch-work  ceilings  in  wall-paper  scraps  (how  can  men  be  so  vic- 
iously ingenious ! ) ; the  inappropriate  bits  of  plush,  often  in  combina- 
tion with  durable  metals,  employed  ubiquitously,  sometimes  framing, 


1 Italian  Masters  in  German  Galleries  : Giovanni  Morelli. 


6 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


sometimes  framed ; the  machine-stamped  designs  to  be  cut  to  suit 
the  place  — ready-made  ornament  “ on  draught,”  as  it  were. 
Some  of  this  ornament  may  be  good,  even  first-rate,  but  sole  pro- 
prietorship enhances  any  art-product.  Vulgarize  a thing,  and  it 
loses  its  charm.  Do  we  feel  happier  when  a coat  identical  with 
our  own  confronts  us?  This  feeling  may  be  very  un philanthropic, 
but  it  is  not  inartistic.  If  expense  precludes  the  use  of  elaborate 
mural  painting,  certainly  it  cannot  of  carefully-chosen  flat  tints, 
relieved  here  and  there,  if  necessary,  by  a few  appropriate  lines. 
Wall-papers  are  not  objectionable,  if  used  with  discretion.  They 
are  very  appropriate  to  cottages,  and  to  informal  or  temporary 
structures.  Still,  papers  are  substitutes  for  something  better,  and 
those  who  can  afford  it  indulge  in  paintings,  tapestries,  wood-work, 
or  other  rich  and  durable  materials. 

The  day  for  ecclesiastical  decoration  has  by  no  means  passed 
away.  There  is  less  votive  piety  than  there  was  in  the  palmy  days 
of  buon  fresco , and  what  remains  expresses  itself  in  glass  rather 
than  in  pigment,  though  the  stained-glass  window  is  but  a phase  of 
mural  painting.  The  taste  for  memorial  windows  is  genuine,  and 
likely  to  wax  stronger.  Their  rich,  transparent  tones  are  entranc- 
ing, their  splendor  exalting.  Add  to  this  the  sanctity  of  ages,  and 
an  ineffable  mystery,  engendered  partly  by  the  radiation  of  the 
blending  tones,  partly  by  the  maze  of  leaded  lines,  and  we  have 
the  raison  d’etre  of  a beautiful  and  legitimate  form  of  church  dec- 
oration. The  blond,  I might  almost  say  heavenly,  tones  of  fresco 
if  well-lighted,  are  extremely  happy  in  churches.  In  a dome,  for 
instance,  how  aerial  they  are.  Care  must  be  taken  to  avoid  a clash 
with  the  windows ; but  paintings  clash  less  with  stained  glass  than 
one  would  suppose,  so  totally  different  are  they  in  quality  of  color, 
and  so  overpowering  is  that  of  the  glass.  In  churches  dimly  lighted 
by  “ storied  windows  richly  dight,”  paintings  are  superfluous,  for 
the  reason  that  they  are  practically  invisible.  Clear  glass  is  always 
more  favorable  to  them ; yet  the  combination  is  frequently  desir- 
able. Then  the  stained  glass  should  neither  be  so  clear,  even,  or 
thin,  as  to  shed  colored  rays  on  the  walls,  nor  so  dark  as  to  obfus- 
cate the  decorations.  Painter  and  glazier  can  rarely  work  together 
in  a church,  seeing  that  its  decoration  is  slowly  accumulated.  Where 
they  can,  mutual  enhancement  of  their  work  should  be  the  result. 
Mosaics  are  the  most  suitable  accompaniment  to  colored  glass,  but 
expense  precludes  their  general  adoption. 

Hot  long  since  the  interior  of  the  average  Protestant  church 
was  but  little  better  than  a barn,  the  natural  result  of  Puritanism. 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


7 


Every  day  we  are  emancipating  ourselves  from  the  outward  expres- 
sion — austere  and  hungry  — of  that  sturdy  faith.  Worshippers 
crave  sympathy,  geniality,  less  bare  wall,  more  emotion,  and  — art. 
At  least,  so  I heard  some  orthodoxly-minded  deacons  observe  one 
day,  while  working  unseen  in  a dimly-lighted  dome.  A church,  to 
be  popular,  must  be  attractive ; the  preacher  must  have  a becom- 
ing background  — so,  at  least,  the  deacons  said.  Under  whatever 
forms  religion  may  manifest  itself,  whatever  may  be  the  tenets  of 
the  day  and  place,  or  however  modified  by  modern  ideas,  in  the 
broadest  sense  of  the  word  man  will  always  be  religious.  These 
broader,  more  human,  less-encumbered  beliefs  might  well  seek  ex- 
pression on  the  wall.  They  have  not  yet  been  treated.  Even  the 
old  ideas  can  be  repeated  ad  infinitum  without  wearying,  if  they 
be  rendered  with  modern  feeling.  That  love  of  ecclesiastical  gro- 
tesqueness, the  offspring  of  mediaeval  insufficiency,  is  very  stupid. 
Some  think  that  a painter  must  have  the  faith  of  an  Angelico  to 
limn  an  angel.  Not  a bit  of  it.  The  faithless  Perugino  painted 
exquisite  angels ; Raphael,  the  divine  Raphael,  was  a courtier  of 
pagan  Leo  the  Tenth.  To  believe  in  your  saints  and  angels 
artistically  is  the  requisite  — to  fancy  celestial  forms  and  try  to 
realize  them.  It  is  not  necessary  to  believe  in  their  actualities.  It 
suffices  to  be  inspired  by  the  subject,  and  one  can  be  inspired 
without  being  a bigot.  The  poet  does  not  give  credence  to  the 
legends  and  myths  he  celebrates  in  verse.  He  has  a clear  vision 
of  them  and  a certain  temporary  fictitious  belief.  Too  much  faith 
may  hamper  a creative  mind.  Even  in  his  orthodox  days,  the  poor, 
good  old  painter  and  author,  Cennino  Cennini  (1437)  must  have 
been  sorely  circumscribed  by  his  very  conciliatory  attitude  towards 
the  saints,  who  never  rescued  him  from  a wretched  death  in  a 
"debtor’s  cell.  The  painter-monks  of  Mt.  Athos  are  still  painting 
twelfth-century  pictures  after  the  recipe  of  Panselinos,  so  enslaved 
are  they  by  tradition.  Superstition  would  be  as  great  a drawback 
to  art  to-day  as  aruspicy  would  be  to  military  science.  Fancy  a 
Yon  Moltke  consulting  the  entrails! 


CHAPTER  II. 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS  CONTINUED. 


URAL 
p aint- 
ingand 
m o nument- 
al  sculpture 
are  the 
highest  ex- 
pressions of  decora- 
ti  ve  art.  Un- 
fortunately, the 
expression  “ decorative 
art”  is  almost  tanta- 
mount to  a term  of  re- 
proach. Artists  say 
ranker  slightingly  of  a 
confrere  that  “he  has 
gone  into  decoration.” 
As  Viollet-le-Duc  asks 
What  is  decorative  art? 
Where  is  the  line  to  be 
drawn  between  it  and 
other  forms  of  art  ? Is 
there  any  form  of  art 
that  is  not  decorative  ? 
Personification  of  Encaustic,  from  Pompeii.  The  metopes  of  the 

Parthenon,  the  frescos  of  the  Sistine,  and  the  Stanze  of  the  Vatican 
are  examples  of  so-called  decorative  art ; yet  it  may  be  presumed  that 
Phidias,  Michael  Angelo,  and  Raphael  would  be  somewhat  surprised, 
were  they  to  return  among  us,  not  to  find  themselves  in  “ smart  ” art- 
istic society.  Does  a picture  or  a statue  cease  to  be  decorative  when  it 
is  executed  for  no  particular  place  ? Does  it  cease  to  be  decorative 


‘/Eneas  Piccolomini  created  Cardinal  by  Pope  Calixtus  Ili’  (Fresco) 
by  Pinturicchio  (1454-1513).  Library,  Siena. 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


9 


when  it  is  portable  ? Is  there  any  particular  charm  in  portability  ? 
Portability  has  its  advantages.  A man  can  decamp  at  short  notice 
with  all  his  household  gods ; but  certainly  no  one  has  ever  eulogized 
art  for  this  reason.  Has  any  artist  ever  discovered  a system  of  paint- 
ing or  sculpture  universally  adaptable  to  the  ever-varying  conditions 
of  light  and  place  ? If  any  one  has  been  so  ingenious,  he  must  have 
locked  the  secret  up  in  his  own  consciousness.  Is  the  ulterior  destina- 
tion of  easel  pictures,  then,  ignored  by  the  painter?  In  the  majority 
of  cases  it  would  seem  so,  unless  the  picture  be  painted  to  order  for 
a given  place.  The  poor  mural  painter  — or  monumental  sculptor — 
has  to  bother  his  brains  very  much  about  the  conditions  of  light  and 
place,  and  to  make  many  a reluctant  sacrifice  to  them.  Because  an 
art  takes  cognizance  of  its  environments,  is  it  inferior  to  an  art  that 
trusts  to  luck  for  its  setting  ? 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  depreciate  the  easel  picture  in  my  eagerness 
to  exalt  monumental  art.  To  do  anything  well  is  an  arduous  task. 
Comparisons  between  the  kindred  arts  are  not  only  odious  and 
sterile,  but  well-nigh  impossible  without  the  bias  of  personal  prefer- 
ence. Leonardo’s  spleen  when  he  vaunts  the  superiority  of  painting 
over  sculpture  — owing,  probably,  to  a grudge  against  Michael 
Angelo  — is  delicious  reading.  Hear  him  : “ The  sculptor  by  blows 
and  muscle  wears  away  the  marble  or  superfluous  stone  that  exceeds 
the  figure  which  is  enclosed  within  it  — a very  mechanical  operation 
— in  a great  sweat  mixed  with  dust  and  converted  into  mud,  his  face 
well  pasted,  and  completely  powdered  with  marble  dust,  so  that  he 
looks  like  a baker,  and  covered  with  minute  chips,  as  if  he  had  been 
snowed  upon,  and  his  house  [is]  filthy,  and  full  of  chips  and  stone-dust ; 
whilst  the  well-dressed  painter  sits  comfortably  before  his  work,  and 
manipulates  light  brushes  and  exquisite  colors,  adorned  with  gar- 
ments to  his  taste,  and  his  house  is  full  of  beautiful  paintings,”  etc. 
His  atrabiliousness  entirely  runs  away  with  his  style  and  stops. 
Michael  Angelo’s  tirade  against  oil  painting  was  unworthy  of  him; 
but  when  he  waxed  old,  and  approaching  death  mellowed  his  austere 
temperament,  he  kindly  and  fairly  writes  to  Benedetto  Varchi,  esti- 
mating by  request  the  comparative  supremacy  of  painting  and 
sculpture :“....  then  painting  and  sculpture  may  be  considered 
equal,  and  this  being  admitted,  it  follows  that  no  painter  should 
undervalue  sculpture,  nor  should  any  sculptor  depreciate  painting.”  1 

It  has  been  said  that  all  good  painting  comes  from  the  wall. 
(Almost  to  a man  the  “ big  ones  ” have  painted  on,  or  for,  the 
wall.)  This  may  be  a somewhat  superlative  statement,  but  there  is 


1 Life  of  Michael  Angelo : Charles  Heath  W ilson. 


10 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


a germ  of  truth  in  it.  In  its  higher  phases  mural  painting  is  an 
excellent  antidote  to  the  vagaries  of  fashion,  being  intolerant  of  im- 
pertinent eccentricities  and  egotistical  extravagances.  It  must  be 
dignified  and  appropriate,  as  well  as  free  from  all  ephemeral  pictur- 
esqueness. Wouldn’t  art  gain  something  were  the  painters  of  the 
easel  picture  to  take  a hint  from  their  mural  brethren,  and  consider 
the  final  destination  of  their  work?  The  ultimate  resting-place  of  a 
picture  cannot  be  predicted  with  certainty ; yet  it  is  fair  to  assume 
that  the  majority  of  paintings,  if  they  be  of  moderate  size,  will 
eventually  hang  in  a dwelling-house.  As  a matter  of  fact,  many 
painters  — too  many,  it  is  to  be  feared  — whilst  incubating,  are 
thinking  very  much  more  of  the  next  important  exhibition  than  of 
the  quiet  little  nook  where  perchance  their  creation  will  find  itself, 
feebly  lighted  and  at  close  quarters  with  the  family. 

Exhibitions  are  useful  disseminators  of  art.  To  the  public  they 
are  beneficent  teachers ; to  the  artists  themselves,  while  they  are  un- 
deniably of  great  advantage  as*  criterions  of  comparative  merit,  they 
are  also  fraught  with  grave  danger.  As  for  the  concomitant  system 
of  medals  and  prizes,  it  is  enough  “to  drag  angels  down.”  Let  them 
be  relegated  to  the  domain  of  the  schoolboy;  there  are  worthier 
prizes  for  the  artist  than  medals  and  red  ribbon  — the  great  prizes  of 
life,  honor  and  success,  not  to  mention  the  mere  joy  of  creation. 
This  prize  system  is  just  beginning  to  take  root  here;  let  us  eradi- 
cate it  ere  it  is  too  late.  In  other  countries  it  has  tarnished  many 
brilliant  names.  Great  men  have  belittled  themselves  in  their 
scramble  for  rewards.  Jurymen  have  first  bedizened  their  own  but- 
ton-holes and  then  bedecked  their  henchmen.  Intrigues  and  enmities 
quite  as  crafty  and  fierce  as  those  of  the  political  arena  are  rampant 
in  the  lists  of  art.  The  Olympic  games  were  favorable  to  the  devel- 
opment of  symmetry  and  heroic  action.  Perfect  Greek  met  perfect 
Greek  in  nerve  and  limb-testing  struggle ; and  a simple  garland  of 
wild  olive  sufficed  to  immortalize  the  mightiest.  Had  these  games 
been  semi-annual,  instead  of  quadrennial,  with  interludes  of  the 
Nemean,  Pythian  and  Isthmian,  they  would  soon  have  degenerated 
into  “go-as-you-please”  matches,  with  vulgar  belts  and  purses  to 
allure  equally  vulgar  champions.  The  present  mania  for  exhibitions 
is  fast  lowering  them  to  the  level  of  the  show,  and  in  many  cases  to 
the  pecuniary  advantage  of  the  showmen.  That  picture-dealers 
should  speculate  in  art  is  just  and  natural.  There  is  no  humbug 
about  their  calling.  But  there  is  a vast  amount  of  humbug  underly- 
ing the  self-sacrificing  manifestoes  of  the  benevolent  art-agent.  If 
exhibitions  are  great  picture  marts,  let  it  be  frankly  acknowledged : 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


11 


there  is  no  sin  in  it,  and  art  is  degraded  by  the  lie.  But  pray,  gen- 
tlemen, dispense  with  the  solicitous  cant  about  the  welfare  of  the 
American  public. 

There  remains  one  more  observation  to  be  made  about  exhibitions 
(having  little,  apparently,  to  do  with  mural  painting,  save  indirectly), 
and  that  is  their  distracting  influence  on  the  younger  artists,  not  to 
mention  the  older.  “ One  must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated,”  they  say ; 
“ but  coute  que  coute , one  must  be  seen.”  Either  motive  or  technique 
must  be  noisy,  so  that  those  who  run  may  read.  This  is  frequently 
the  key-note  to  production,  and  what  a key-note  to  sonnet  or  epic ! 
How  can  any  heartfelt  song  be  attuned  to  it  ? At  times  it  would 
seem  as  though  the  whole  artistic  world  were  “ Salon  ’’-struck,  insular 
England  excepted,  be  it  said  to  her  credit.  The  spaciousness  and 
garish  light  of  a gallery  exact  a very  different  handling  from  the 
quiet  light  of  home,  where,  by  the  way,  a picture  can  choose  its 
neighbors  without  elbowing  them. 

The  mental  attitude  of  the  prospective  exhibitor  is  unhealthy.  Un- 
harassed concentration  and  personal  inspiration  are  requisite  for  the 
evolution  of  an  idea.  There  is  a temptation  to  force  a note  for  an 
exhibition,  or  to  sacrifice  personality  to  a fashion  set  by  some  hero  of 
the  hour.  An  artist  must  be  very  self-reliant  or  unreceptive  not  to 
lose  his  head ; very  confident  and  shrewd  to  glean  the  few  whole- 
some hints  that  will  strengthen  his  own  expression  without  stealing 
the  soul  of  his  brother-artist.  The  mural  painter  is  a perpetual 
exhibitor.  He  exhibits  naturally,  not  artificially ; he  paints  for  a 
given  place  under  definite  conditions.  He  is  not  obliged  to  whistle 
to  the  passer-by,  nor  is  he  bothered  by  whistling  neighbors.  He  is 
himself,  when  left  to  his  own  resources.  When  left  to  his  own 
resources  1 Could  he  only  assert  himself  with  the  haughty  stubborn- 
ness of  Michael  Angelo,  who  rode  rough-shod  over  popes  1 If  popes, 
too,  were  equally  complaisant  1 “ I said  to  the  pope,”  writes  Buan- 

arroti  concerning  the  Sistine,  “ that  to  represent  the  Apostles  only  it 
would  prove  a poor  thing ; he  asked  me  why.  I said  to  him,  because 
they  were  poor  also.  Then  he  gave  me  a new  commission  that  I 
should  do  what  I pleased.  . .” 

A comparatively  limited  experience  has  verified  the  opinion  — 
which  may  be  erroneous,  seeing  that  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  sub- 
stantiate a generalization  without  very  extended  researches  — that 
the  attitude  of  educated  people  in  matters  of  taste  is  far  less  defer- 
ential to  professional  judgment  in  this  than  in  other  countries,  and 
relatively  far  more  deferential  to  the  ex  cathedra  utterances  of  the 
other  professions.  Taste  is  apparently  too  obvious  to  admit  of  culti- 


12 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


vation,  and  personal  preferences  suffice.  However  this  may  be,  the 
attitude  of  the  profession,  and  the  architectural  profession  as  well,  is 
too  yielding.  Talk  earnestly,  sensibly,  firmly  to  a man  of  common- 
sense  and  an  impression  will  be  made,  unless  his  will  is  adamantine. 
Firmness  and  tact  work  marvels.  Clients  can  exercise  a great  deal 
of  taste  under  professional  advice.  The  primary  conditions  they 
impose,  the  man  they  select  to  work  out  these  conditions,  and  the  de- 
cision of  the  many  alternatives  that  are  presented  to  them,  all  imply 
personal  taste.  In  cases  involving  professional  science  an  architect 
should  be  absolute.  From  the  first  he  should  work  with  a view  to 
mural  paintings,  if  there  are  to  be  any.  The  mural  painter  has  to  take 
tilings  as  he  finds  them.  He  is  generally  summoned  at  t-he  last  moment, 
when  it  is  too  late  to  choose  his  grounds.  He  has  to  make  the  best  of 
faulty  conditions.  Pigments  must  be  applied  to  haif-dried  and  inferior 
plaster.  Why  ? Because  the  client  is  in  a hurry,  or  because  the  archi- 
tect has  not  personally  tested  the  plaster  and  its  application,  or  because 
the  paintings  have  been  suggested  at  the  eleventh  hour.  The  archi- 
tects are  doing  much,  through  their  associations,  to  strengthen  and  dig- 
nify their  position.  Would  that  the  decorators  would  follow  their 
example  instead  of  cutting  each  others’  throats.  The  relations  between 
architect,  client  and  decorator  are,  to  say  the  least,  very  tr}dng. 
Theoretically,  when  employed  by  the  architect,  the  decorator  does 
not  recognize  the  client.  Actually  it  is  very  different.  Not  infre- 
quently he  finds  himself  between  two  fires,  and  in  his  efforts  to  please 
two  masters  pleases  none. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  there  is  no  department  in  our  larger  schools 
of  art  where  mural  painting  is  taught.  The  regular  academic  fig- 
ure-work, though  necessary,  is  not  enough.  It  should  be  supplemented 
not  only  by  a course  of  elementary  architectural  and  decorative 
forms,  but  by  instruction  in  the  monumental  treatment  of  figures,  as 
well  as  by  lectures  on  walls  and  plaster,  on  the  chemistry  of  colors, 
their  deterioration  under  climatic,  solar  or  gaseous  influences,  in  fact, 
on  all  the  mechanical  part  of  decorative  art.  Greatly  to  their  disad- 
vantage our  artists  know  almost  nothing  about  the  chemistry  of  colors, 
oils,  varnishes,  and  their  behavior  under  trying  conditions.  Pictures 
frequently  blacken  or  crack  in  a way  that  is  quite  unaccountable. 
It  may  be  owing  to  the  ground,  the  vehicle,  colors,  or  undue  haste. 
Who  can  tell?  Artists  rely  implicitly  on  the  colormen.  It  is  well 
that  labor  should  be  divided  in  these  bustling  days,  and  that  our  ma- 
terials should  be  prepared  for  us  by  others.  But  it  is  not  well  to  del- 
egate all  knowledge  of  them.  Cennino  Cennini  [1437]  allows  “the 
space  of  six  years  at  least  ” to  “ learn  all  the  parts  and  members  of 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


13 


the  art,”  and  six  years  more  for  the  practice  of  it,  “ drawing  without 
intermission  on  holydays  and  weekdays.”  If  an  artist  is  moved  by 
the  praiseworthy  impulse  to  make  a few  investigations,  he  is  forth- 
with confronted  by  a disheartening  disagreement  of  the  doctors. 
Here  is  a hap-hazard  example,  Indian  yellow  is  classed  by  several 
authors  among  the  dangerous  pigments  ; while  Ulisse  Forni,  restorer 
of  the  royal  galleries  at  Florence,  describes  it  as  a “ beautiful  and 
durable  color  in  nowise  noxious.”  Some  of  the  most  charming 
qualities  in  modern  pictures  are  gained  at  the  expense  of  durability ; 
such  a quality,  for  instance,  as  texture — unless  great  care  be  observed. 
Where  paint  is  unevenly  and  lumpily  applied,  it  is  very  apt  to  crack, 
especially  if  the  undertone  be  not  thoroughly  dry.  In  out-of-door 
work  where  time  is  an  object  to  the  artist,  the  undertone  has  very 
rarely  time  to  dry  properly ; recourse  is  then  had  to  the  doubtful  expe- 
dient of  powerful  siccatives.  Perhaps  it  is  not  known  to  the  average 
painter  that  the  rather  popular  palette-knife  execution  is  more  liable 
to  crack  than  brush-work — the  air  acting  on  the  latter  more  readily. 
Artists  are  daily  employing  methods  that  would  have  shocked  the 
atelier-bred  men  of  the  Renaissance  ; not  from  lack  of  moral  sense, 
but  from  sheer  ignorance  of  the  physical  laws  relating  to  their  craft. 
Unfortunately,  unpunished  offences  promote  this  ignorance,  and  en- 
gender indifference,  to  boot.  It  is  authoritatively  said  that  deterio- 
ration is  the  logical  sequence  of  certain  evil  methods.  This  is  not 
always  the  case,  the  conditions  environing  a picture  being  exceed- 
ingly complex,  and  possibly  harboring  an  unsuspected  antidote. 
Yet  immunity  from  degeneration  is  frequently  enjoyed  for  a space 
only  — time  settling  the  account. 

The  ideal  school  for  the  mural  painter  must  have  been  the  studio 
of  the  Renaissance — Perugino’s,  for  instance,  where  practice  and  pre- 
cept were  most  happily  combined.  Great  works  were  consummated 
under  the  eye  of  the  pupil,  himself  a coadjutor  when  sufficiently  ad- 
vanced. His  relations  with  the  master  were  intimate,  as  they  should 
be.  The  master  was  the  father  of  the  artistic  family.  He  exacted 
obedience,  which  — if  he  were  a man  of  note  — was  cheerfully  ren- 
dered. In  return  the  pupil  was  relieved  of  all  anxiety.  He  was 
taught  everything  worth  teaching.  Instead  of  flitting  from  master 
to  master,  as  students  are  prone  to  do  now-a-days,  bound  by  no  tie, 
following  their  own  immature  judgment,  he  was  regularly  appren- 
ticed by  his  parents  to  some  reputable  artist  with  whom  he  worked 
till  maturity.  Didron,  in  his  Manuel  d* Iconographie  Cliretienne , 
a work  to  which  future  reference  will  be  made,  describes  an  interest- 
ing scene  he  witnessed  in  the  atelier  of  Father  Macarios,  one  of  the 


14 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


best  Byzantine  painters  on  Mount  Atkos,  who  still  hold  to  the  me- 
diaeval methods.  Alluding  to  a certain  Greek  manuscript  — a per- 
fect thesaurus  of  all  that  a painter  should  know,  called  in  fact  the 
1 Painter’s  Guide,’  and  dating  back  in  precept  to  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury— he  says : “ This  Bible  of  his  art  was  placed  in  the  middle  of 
the  atelier,  and  two  of  the  young  pupils  read  from  it,  alternately  in 
a loud  voice,  whilst  the  others  painted  as  they  listened.”  What  de- 
lightful and  easy  co-operation  1 

The  rigors  of  a trying  climate  would  probably  make  short  work  of 
any  painting  on  the  exterior  of  our  buildings.  In  milder  countries 
even  k has  fared  badly  with  frescos  exposed  to  the  open  air.  Would 
that  Giorgione  had  never  painted  on  palace  fa9ades  1 The  actinic 
rays  of  the  sun,  sea-air,  dampness,  changes  of  temperature  rapidly 
deteriorate  all  pigments.  It  is  said  that  successful  experiments  have 
lately  been  made  in  Germany  to  render  mural  paintings  weather- 
proof by  a process  resembling  the  water-glass  method,  though  not 
identical  with  it.  This  may  be  so,  yet  one  is  inclined  to  doubt  its 
permanent  durability.  At  all  events  time  alone  can  guarantee  it. 1 
Even  the  recently-discovered  endolithic  process,  where  the  colors  are 
imbibed  by  the  marble  and  incorporated  with  it,  will  not  resist  atmos- 
pheric deterioration.  It  is,  however,  admirably  adapted  to  certain  in- 
door uses  where  marble  is  desirable,  for  example  in  a bath-room.  Of 
exposed  vermilion,  Vitruvius  says,  “ In  open  places,  such  asperistylia 
or  exedrse,  and  similar  situations  whereto  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  moon 
penetrate,  the  brilliancy  of  the  color  is  destroyed  by  contact  with 
them,  and  it  becomes  black.  Thus,  as  it  has  happened  to  many 


1 This  process  was  invented  by  Adolph  Keim  of  Munich.  The  artists  on  the  com- 
mission sum  up  their  report  with  these  remarks:  “According  to  the  foregoing 
opinions,  Mr.  Keim  has  undoubtedly  succeeded  in  providing  a method  of  monu- 
mental painting  carefully  thought  out,  even  to  the  smallest  detail,  grounded  on 
scientific  principles,  and  practically  verified  by  visible  facts,  which  is  by  far  to  be 
preferred  to  all  methods  of  painting  hitherto  existent, iand  which,  once  recognised 
for  its  high  value,  would  bring  about  a complete  revolution  in  all  our  monumen- 
tal and  decorative  art,  and  which  deserves  the  widest  publication  and  practical 
employment.”  [ American  Architect,  Vol.  XV , No.  429.]  May  this  unstinted  praise 
be  verified  by  time!  Yet  almost  as  handsome  things  were  said  years  ago  of  the 
stereo-chrome,  or  water-glass  process,  which  has  since  proved  perishable.  For 
example:  “In  order  to  test  the  advantages  of  stereochromy,  proof  plates  were 
submitted  to  the  roughest  treatment;  they  were  exposed  for  weeks  to  rain  and 
frost;  the  ice  which  had  formed  upon  them  was  allowed  to  thaw  in  a warm  room 
and  this  freezing  and  thawing  process  was  repeated  without  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree damaging  the  plates,  whilst  fresco  paintings  treated  in  the  same  manner 
became  quite  friable,  and  crumbled  to  pieces;”  and  more  in  the  same  6train 
From  W.  Cave  Thomas’s  Mural  Decoration.  ] Time— the  true  test— has  scaled 
off  the  colors  submitted  to  the  water-glass  treatment.  “Certain  colors  in  par- 
ticular, as  ultramarine,  umber  and  black,  were  observed  to  be  always  the  first 
to  detach  themselves  in  the  form  of  powder,  or  by  scaling  off  from  the  painting, 
thus  pointing  to  the  fact  that  their  destruction  was  not  owing  to  any  accidental 
defect  in  the  manner  of  their  application,  but  to  some  radical  unsuitability  aris- 
ing from  the  chemical  conditions  of  the  process.  \_American  Architect,  Vol.  XV, 
No.  429.] 


INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 


15 


others,  Faberius,  the  scribe,  wishing  to  have  his  house  on  the  Aven- 
tine  elegantly  finished,  colored  the  walls  of  the  peristylia  with  ver- 
milion. In  the  course  of  thirty  days  they  turned  to  a disagreeable, 
uneven  color;  on  which  account  he  was  obliged  to  agree  with  the 
contractors  to  lay  on  other  colors.  Those  who  are  particular  in  this 
respect,  and  are  desirous  that  the  vermilion  should  retain  its  color, 
should,  when  the  wall  is  colored  and  dry,  rub  it  with  a hard  brush 
charged  with  Punic  wax  melted  and  tempered  with  oil;  then,  with 
live  coals  in  an  iron  pan,  the  wall  should  be  thoroughly  heated,  so  as  to 
melt  the  wax  and  make  it  lie  even,  and  then  rubbed  with  a candle  and 
clean  cloth,  as  they  do  marble  statues.  This  practice  is  called  Kavaig 
by  the  Greeks,”  [Gwilt’s  translation].  Its  power  to  resist  the  action 
of  acids  has  frequently  suggested  the  use  of  wax  with  pigments.  As 
observed  by  Vitruvius,  the  Greeks  saturated  their  marble  statues 
with  it  to  protect  them  from  atmospheric  corrosion.  It  would  be  in- 
teresting and  profitable  to  apply  an  out-of-door  test  to  ordinary  oil 
house-paints,  either  mixed  with  wax  dissolved  in  turpentine,  or  laid  on 
in  the  usual  fashion  with  a final  coat  of  liquefied  wax  and  oil.  The 
durability  of  paint  might  thus  be  prolonged  several  years,  though 
nothing  probably  would  adhere  to  our  walls  either  externally  or  in- 
ternally as  they  did  to  those  of  Vitruvius.  What  walls  they  were ! 
It  would  be  well  for  architects  to  familiarize  their  clients  with  his 
chapter  on  plastering.  “ Three  sand  coats  and  the  same  number  of 
marble-dust  coats  ; ” but  the  preparation  of  the  walls  and  the  use  of 
wax  will  be  treated  more  fully  in  subsequent  chapters. 

Mosaic  is  undoubtedly  the  best  medium  for  exterior  pictures.  It 
is  both  durable  and  decorative.  It  harmonizes  with  stone,  marble, 
or  even  brick.  If  the  stone  or  marble  be  highly  colored  or  polished, 
the  mosaic  may  be  rich  and  brilliant  in  tone.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
they  be  low-toned  or  dull,  care  must  be  taken  to  use  tesserae  of  quiet 
materials.  Mosaics  can  be  slightly  deadened  by  using  a white  ce- 
ment and  allowing  it  to  be  visible  in  the  interstices.  Mosaic  does 
not  harmonize  with  painted  wood.  Its  juxtaposition  to  any  wood  is 
open  to  criticism.  Glazed  encaustic  tiles  are  also  well  adapted  to 
out-of-door  decoration.  Our  climate  favors  the  use  of  color  in  fa9ades. 
Our  sun  is  as  splendid  as  that  of  more  southern  climes.  The  reflected 
lights  are  strong;  therefore  it  is  well  to  accentuate  architectural 
forms  with  color.  Moreover,  color  is  in  keeping  with  our  brilliant 
skies  and  foliage.  In  gray  England  or  northern  France  ii  discords 
with  the  leaden  atmosphere.  We  are  just  accustoming  ourselves  to 
its  use.  The  denizen  of  the  “ brown-stone  front  ” was  somewhat 
shocked  at  first,  but  even  he  is  beginning  to  yield.  While  the 


16 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


private  citizen  may  prefer  to  present  a quiet  and  dignified  facade  to 
the  street  from  motives  of  modesty,  public  buildings  have  the  right, 
and  ought  to  blaze  with  a fair  amount  of  splendor. 


'Erythraean  Sibyl’  (Fresco)  by  Michael  Angelo  (1474-1564).  Sistine 
Chapel,  Rome. 


mm 


CHAPTER  III. 


ENCAUSTIC  AND  TEMPERA  OF  THE  ANCIENTS. 


0F  the  various  kinds 
of  mural  painting, 
several  take  their 
name  from  the  vehicle 
with  which  the  colors 
are  mixed,  as  tempera  or 
distemper,  oil,  and  water- 
glass.  Fresco  — real 
fresco,  not  the  sham 
palmed  off  as  fresco  — 
is  so  called  because  the 
colors  are  laid  on  fresh 
plaster.  Encaustic  im- 
plies the  application  of 
heat,  either  subsequent 
to  the  laying  on  of  the 
colors  or  during  the  op- 
eration. There  are  other  kinds  of  mural  painting,  but  they  can 
all  be  classified  under  these  five  historical  heads,  unless  mosaic  and 
stained  glass  be  reckoned  phases  of  mural  painting.  Though  several 
of  these  methods  have  been  employed  by  different  peoples,  and  at 
times  mutually  remote,  others  are  invariably  associated  with  definite 
epochs  and  nations.  Instances  of  the  arch,  by  way  of  illustration, 
are  frequent  enough  before  the  days  of  Rome,  yet  it  is  justly  deemed 
a Roman  method  of  construction,  inasmuch  as  the  Romans  were  the 
first  thoroughly  to  develop  its  constructive  possibilities.  Thus  encaus- 
tic is  peculiarly  a Grecian  method  of  pictorial  expression.  Fresco, 
though  practised  alike  by  ancients  and  moderns,  is  par  excellence  the 
medium  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  decorators.  Water-glass  is  a mod- 
ern German  method. 

Though  several  mummy  - masks  have  been  found  that  prove  the 


From  Pompeii. 


18 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


knowledge  of  encaustic  painting  by  the  Egyptians,  yet  this  process 
was  not  developed  by  them  till  after  the  Macedonian  conquest.  Dis- 
temper was  the  national  method.  The  menstruum  employed  was 
probably  some  flexible  gum,  such  as  tragacantli,  mixed  with  water. 
Perhaps  honey  was  at  times  the  vehicle,  as  it  is  now  for  water-colors. 
It  should  be  noted  that  their  paintings  have  rarely  cracked.1  The  col- 
ors were  applied  with  brushes ; the  smaller  made  from  reeds  soaked 
in  water  till  their  fibres  were  separated ; the  larger  from  branches  of  the 
salvadora  persica.  The  Egyptians  tapestried  their  buildings  with  color, 
externally  and  internally,  without  regard  to  architectural  lines,  but 
rather  to  “ immortalize  the  ideas  that  floated  through  their  brains.” 
The  light  in  Egypt  is  intense,  and  there  was  need  to  emphasize  the 
structures  with  color.  The  vibration  of  strong  color  under  strong  light 
is  so  great  that  its  strength  is  broken,  and  pure  tones  are  tolerable, 
where,  in  grayer  climes,  they  would  be  insupportable.  The  pigments 
were  brushed  on  a coat  of  white  stucco,  which  enhances  their  bril- 
liancy. On  both  outside  and  inside  walls  the  decorations  were  first 
engraved  or  sculptured,  before  receiving  this  priming  coat  — which 
obliterated  the  joints  of  the  masonry  — probably  to  give  accent  and 
durability.  In  the  tombs,  however,  where  there  was  neither  wear  and 
tear,  nor  dazzling  light  (how  little  did  they  foresee,  poor  souls !),  the 
painter  worked  without  the  concurrence  of  the  sculptor.  Yet  the 
paintings  on  the  sculptured  grounds  must  have  been  very  perishable. 
A sharp  abrasion  would  detach  the  stucco,  or  a severe  earthquake  shock 
open  the  joints  of  masonry.  Not  being  works  of  art,  however,  in  one 
sense  of  the  word,  they  could  be  easily  repainted.  Figures  played  a 
more  prominent  part  in  Egyptian  mural  decoration  than  in  that  of 
subsequent  epochs.  But  they  were  decorative  or  hieroglyphic  forms, 
rather  than  figures,  as  the  Greeks  understood  them.  Figures  were 
used  by  the  latter  less  abundantly,  less  monotonously,  with  more  dis- 
cretion and  telling  concentration,  not  to  speak  of  artistic  merit.  The 
use  of  figures  on  ceilings  was  avoided  by  the  Egyptian  painters,  their 
treatment  of  the  human  form  not  favoring  its  adoption.  (In  later  days 
the  problem  was  — and  still  is  — terrible  to  solve.)  “ The  ceilings  of 
the  temples  at  Thebes  had  generally  a blue  ground,  upon  which  vul- 
tures, with  their  great  wings  outspread,  floated  among  golden  stars.” 
All  this  and  very  much  more  may  be  found  in  the  History  oj 

1 Gen.  Chas.  G.  Loring,  Curator  of  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  has  a frag- 
ment of  stucco,  dating  back  to  the  XVIIIth  dynasty,  from  a royal  tomb.  It  is 
covered  with  a highly  polished  blue  substance,  hard  as  enamel,  and  insoluble  in 
water.  The  whole  ceiling  was  once  covered  with  it.  We  showed  it  to  a well- 
known  chemist,  but  none  of  us  could  come  to  a definite  conclusion  as  to  its 
composition 


ENCAUSTIC  AND  TEMPERA  OF  THE  ANCIENTS. 


19 


Ancient  Egyptian  Art,  by  Perrot  and  Chipiez,  a very  readable 
book,  unencumbered  by  an  excess  of  archaeological  baggage,  so  dis- 
couraging to  the  busy  practitioner. 

The  Greeks  painted  in  fresco,  tempera  and  encaustic.  With 
them  the  encaustic  process  reached  its  highest  development.  They 
used  it  not  only  in  flat  tints  to  cover  plain  surface  or  sculptured 
ornament,  but  also  to  model  the  delicate  undulations  of  the  human 
form.  Great  ingenuity  and  learning  have  been  displayed  in  the 
many  attempts  to  solve  the  encaustic  riddle.  Unfortunately,  the 
texts  on  which  scholars  rely  to  elucidate  the  process  were  not  always 
written  by  professional  men.  Unfortunately,  too,  the  scholars  have 
in  many  instances  been  unfamiliar  with  the  technic  of  painting,  and 
have,  moreover,  encumbered  their  theories  with  a prodigious  num- 
ber of  citations  more  flattering  to  their  erudition  than  edifying  to 
the  inquirer.  The  most  intelligible  and  rational  account  that  I have 
yet  seen  is  a monograph,  published  last  year  in  Paris,  entitled 
L’Encaustique  et  les  Autres  Precedes  de  Peinture  chez  les  Anciens , 
Histoire  et  Technique,  par  Henry  Cros,  Statuaire  et  Peintre ; Charles 
Henry,  Bibliothecaire  a la  Sorbonne.  After  a critical  examination  of 
existing  texts  and  monuments,  they  thus  restore  the  encaustic  proc- 
ess : (Be  it  understood  that  encaustic  means  a burning  in,  and  that  no 
system  of  wax-painting  can  properly  be  called  encaustic,  unless  there 
is  an  application  of  heat.)1 

“ When  the  colored  sticks  of  wax  and  resin  have  been  melted  over 
the  fire,  either  in  separate  cups,  or,  better  still,  on  a metallic  palette 
with  depressions  for  the  colors,  the  tones  are  laid  on  the  panel  with  a 
brush.  Up  to  this  point  the  work  is  rough  and  disunited.  Now  the 
tones  are  blended  with  the  cestrum  — at  times  red-hot.  From  the 
cooled  palette,  or  from  another  set  for  the  purpose,  with  (cold)  wax 
colors,  the  intermediate  tones  can  be  taken  with  the  cestrum,  still  hot, 
to  give  the  gradations  to  the  modelling.,’ 

From  this  primary  process  they  derive  three  secondary  processes  : — 

(1)  “ Hot-painting  with  colored  sticks  of  wax  and  resin,  softened  by 
the  addition  of  an  oil,  conveyed  to  the  panel  from  a hot  palette  with 
the  brush,  then  melted  and  modelled  with  the  cestrum.  The  addition 
of  oil,  while  facilitating  the  work,  enables  it  to  be  finished  more  highly. 
We  shall  not  be  far  out,  if  we  see  in  this  method  the  technic  of  the 
painting  of  Cortona.” 


1 The  ancients  sometimes  used  the  term  encaustic  synonymously  with  paint- 
ing, as  some  moderns  apply  the  term  fresco  to  all  mural  painting.  Fo.-  clearness 
sake  it  would  be  better  to  restrict  both  words  to  their  original  and  legitimate 
signification. 


20 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


(2)  “Cold-painting  with  colored  sticks  of  wax  and  resin,  softened 
by  the  addition  of  an  oil,  applied  directly  to  the  panel  like  crayons 
of  pastel,  then  worked  with  the  cestrum,  just  as  modelling-wax  is 
worked  with  the  tool.” 

■ (3)  “ Cold-painting  with  colored  sticks  of  wax  and  resin,  dissolved 
in  an  essential  and  volatile  oil,  and  applied  with  the  brush.” 

The  cestrum  (generic  name  cauteria ) is  a metallic  instrument 
for  modelling  the  wax,  of  which  many  examples  are  to  be  found  in 
museums.  The  shapes  are  various,  both  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 


process  and  the  personality  of  the  artist  — as  to-day  some  painters 
prefer  round  brushes  to  flat,  and  vice  versa.  They  were  heated,  in 
order  to  blend  the  vigorous  but  rough  strokes  of  the  brush,  and  with- 
out which  the  soft  transitions  from  tone  to  tone  could  not  be  ef- 
fected. 

Reference  is  made  above  to  the  famous  ‘ Muse  of  Cortona.’  Some 
doubts  have  been  cast  on  its  antiquity ; our  authors,  however,  believe 
in  it.  It  was  found  by  a peasant  in  the  environs  of  Cortona,  along 
with  several  statuettes,  in  1732.  It  is  two-thirds  the  size  of  life,  and  is 
painted  on  slate,  “ The  family  venerated  it  for  a long  while  as  an 
image  of  the  Virgin ; but  the  good  people,  having  discovered  their 
mistake,  used  it  to  close  a little  window  near  an  oven,  and  even  cut 
off  the  two  upper  corners.  It  remained  in  that  state  till  the  year 
1735,  when  the  Cavaliere  Tommaso  Tommasi,  proprietor  of  the 
estate,  purchased  and  saved  it  from  such  barbarous  treatment. 
Thirty  years  ago,  Signora  Louisa  Bartolotti  Tommasi  presented  it  to 


ENCAUSTIC  AND  TEMPERA  OF  THE  ANCIENTS. 


21 


the  Etruscan  Academy  of  Cortona.”  “ The  coloring  is  perfect ; the 
drawing  deliciously  pure.  The  process  is  evidently  encaustic  — 
encaustic  pushed  to  the  last  stage  of  perfection.  . . . The  modelling 
is  very  diversely  treated.  There  are  long  marks,  like  crayon  lines,  on 
the  drapery,  the  breast,  the  arms,  the  nose,  brow,  and  ear  ; the  neck 
and  throat  look  as  if  they  were  ironed  — not  the  sign  of  a harsh 
mark,  but  that  of:  an  instrument,  long  or  flat,  according  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  case.  Is  not  this  a sufficiently  clear  indication  of 
the  cestrum  ? ” 1 

Whatever  doubts  may  be  cast  on  the  authenticity  of  the  cele- 
brated muse,  there  are  three  encaustic  portraits  from  Egypt  in  the 
British  Museum,  and  three  more  in  the  Louvre,  that  are  incontest- 
ably ancient.  The  latter  represent  members  of  the  family  of  Pollius 
Soter,  arclion  of  Thebes  in  Hadrian’s  reign  (A.  D.  117-138.)  On 
one  of  these  in  particular  — the  head  of  a young  girl,  strangely  fas- 
cinating— the  technic  of  the  cestrum  is  clearly  visible.  “ Sometimes 
long  marks,  as  though  the  color  came  from  an  inexhaustible  brush  • 
sometimes  hollow  hatchings,  softly  breaking  over-defined  touches, 
model  the  forms.” 

MM.  Cros  & Henry  devote  a chapter  to  their  “personal  practice 
of  encaustic.”  As  practice  is  more  convincing  and  intelligible  than 
theory,  I shall  give  a resume  of  their  experiments. 

1.  The  Heater.  — Its  functions  are  to  prepare  the  colored  sticks  of 
wax ; to  keep  the  palette  hot  for  brush-work ; and  to  heat  the  ces- 
tra.  The  heater  should  be  of  metal  or  earthen-ware,  and  rather 
small.  Otherwise  the  painter  would  be  incommoded  by  the  burning 
charcoal.  To  avoid  the  blueish  fumes  of  oxide  of  carbon,  prefer- 
ence should  be  given  to  embers  (perhaps  kerosene  could  be 
utilized).  Its  orifice  should  be  a little  more  than  a hand’s  length  in 
diameter,  and  the  palette  should  rest  horizontally  on  its  edges. 

2.  The  Hot  Palette — Should  be  a disk  of  tinned  metal  — iron  or 
copper  — on  which  there  should  be  circular  depressions  for  the 
colors,  the  centre  of  the  palette  being  left  free  for  their  mixture. 
It  should  have  a handle  covered  with  wood  to  protect  the  painter’s 
hand  from  heat. 

1 Cros  & Henry,  following  Zannoni,  do  not  accept  the  genuineness  of  the 
Cleopatra  said  to  have  been  found  at  Hadrian’s  Vi  la.  They  base  their  doubts 
especially  on  the  too  evident  contradictions  between  it  and  the  recognized  por- 
traits of  Cleopatra,  not  to  mention  “ all  the  impossibilities.”  If  one  may  judge 
from  the  steel  engraving  of  it,  by  Mr.  John  Sartain — which  is,  no  doubt,  a 
faithful  translation  — its  antiquity  may  well  be  questioned.  There  is  not  a 
particle  of  antique  feeling  in  it,  the  jewelry  and  forms  of  the  ornaments,  as 
well  as  the  treatment  of  the  drapery,  being  notably  unclassic  in  taste.  On  the 
contrary,  it  has  considerable  affinity  with  the  feeling  of  the  late  Renaissance 
work. 


22 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


3.  The  Wax  and  Colors.  — Apothecary’s  white  wax  is  the  best. 
It  can  be  used  alone  for  preparing  the  colors,  but  it  is  an  advantage 
to  add  to  it  one-half  its  weight  of  purified  fine  resin,  called 
colophony  — the  least  colored  to  be  preferred.  This  addition 
notably  economizes  the  wax,  and  far  from  injuring  the  colors  imparts 
to  them  greater  brilliancy  and  tenacity.  Certain  colors  require 
more  wax  than  others;  the  quantity  being  determined  by  experi- 
ment. This  is  the  way : place  a tinned  (or  better,  enamelled)  pot  on 
a moderate  fire ; then  put  the  color  into  it  ground  very  fine.  The 
color  should  now  be  stirred  with  half  a cake  of  white  wax.  From 
time  to  time  throw  into  this  compound,  liquified  by  the  heat,  as  much 
resin  as  there  is  wax  — or  a trifle  more  if  necessary.  When  the 
color  is  thoroughly  mixed  and  has  sufficient  covering-power,  it  should 
be  moulded  into  sticks,  and  subsequently  placed  in  a color-box. 
The  palette  may  be  as  extended  in  range  of  tone  as  desired. 


ENCAUSTIC  AND  TEMPERA  OF  THE  ANCIENTS. 


23 


4.  The  Brushes.  — In  order  to  paint,  the  colors  should  be  melted 
in  the  depressions  of  the  palette,  and  then  rapidly  applied  with  the 
brush.  All  sorts  of  brushes  are  allowable,  from  the  broadest 
bristle  to  the  most  delicate  red-sable.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to 
turn  back  the  hairs  of  the  brush  in  too  hot  colors,  or  to  give 
them  an  ugly  twist  by  pressing  them  too  long  against  the  over-heated 
palette. 

5.  The  Cestra.  — The  brush-work,  if  well  touched,  gives  a vig- 
orous aspect  to  the  sketch,  which  cannot  be  pushed  further  without 
the  intervention  of  the  cestra.  These  are  necessary  to  unite  the 
tones.  As  has  already  been  observed,  they  are  of  various  shapes 
suited  to  their  special  offices.  They  should  be  long  enough  to  pro- 
tect the  artist’s  hand  from  the  heat.  An  angle,  at  some  part  of 
their  length  enables  the  painter  to  see  his  work  more  easily. 

6.  The  Cold  Palette  — Should  be  an  oval  or  rectangular  piece  of 
thin  wood,  small  enough  to  be  held  in  the  left  hand.  The  colors  are  to 
be  poured  on  it  and  allowed  to  cool,  and  then  to  be  conveyed  to  the 
panel  with  the  heated  cestra.  Encaustic  is  applicable  to  all  sorts 
of  surfaces  — wood,  linen  primed  with  glue,  stone,  plaster,  slate,  and 
even  paper.  Freedom  from  humidity  being  assured,  a priming  of 
white  wax  is  laid  on  with  the  brush,  and  afterwards  burnt  in  with  a 
brazier  or  hot  iron,  till  the  pores  of  the  ground  are  well  filled.  Even 
this  priming  may  be  dispensed  with,  provided  the  subsequent  paint- 
ing be  heavy  enough  thoroughly  to  cover  the  ground,  so  that  it  may 
be  worked  with  the  hot  cestrum. 

To  recapitulate,  we  have  a primary  encaustic  process  — colors 
mixed  with  wax  and  resin,  applied  hot  with  a brush,  and  afterwards 
worked  with  a hot  cestrum — and  three  derivative  processes. 

1.  Similar  to  the  primary  process,  but  with  the  addition  of  an  oil 
to  facilitate  the  work.  2.  Cold  applications  of  the  preceding  mix- 
ture conveyed  to  the  panel  like  crayons  of  pastel,  and  modelled  with 
cold  cestra.  3.  Cold  brush-painting  with  colors  of  wax  and  resin 
dissolved  in  an  essential  and  volatile  oil  (such  as  spirits  of  turpentine). 
These  last  two  processes  are  not,  strictly  speaking,  encaustic.  MM. 
Cros  & Henry  do  not  mention  the  final  cauterization  of  the  cold  process. 
This  would  probably  be  optional,  though  it  was  undoubtedly  applied 
at  times,  if  we  are  to  place  any  credence  in  the  ancient  texts  — the 
famous  u ceris  pinr/ere  ac  picturam  inurere  ” among  others.  Not  im- 
probably, the  picture  was  sometimes  polished  with  fine  linen  — wax 
readily  taking  a polish. 

Encaustic  of  Ships.  — The  colors  were  mixed  with  wax  and  pitch 


24 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


— the  latter  to  increase  the  resisting  power  of  the  former  — applied 
with  the  brush,  and  then  passed  over  with  large  heated  irons. 

Encaustic  of  Walls.  — These  are  first  painted  in  distemper  or 
fresco,  and  afterwards  fixed  with  a cauterization  of  wax,  as  both 
Pliny  and  Vitruvius  explicitly  say.  When  the  wall  is  thoroughly  dry 
it  must  be  covered  with  a coat  of  melted  Punic  wax  mixed  with 
oil,  then  sweated  with  a brazier,  and  finally  rubbed  with  a candle 
and  fine  linen  which  gives  a lustre  to  the  surface.  We  know  that 
the  exteriors  of  the  Greek  buildings  were  highly  colored,  even  when 
of  marble.  The  statues  were  not  only  cauterized  for  their  preserva- 
tion, but  sometimes  colored  and  cauterized  for  their  embellishment. 
Vitruvius  tells  us  that  the  triglyphs  of  temples  were  colored  blue. 
The  fragment  of  a Greek  inscription,  found  in  1836,  refers  to  the 
workman  who  burnt  the  cymatium  of  the  temple  of  Minerva  Polias. 
It  is  more  than  probable  that  these  flat  tints  on  marble,  exposed  to 
atmospheric  corrosion,  were  cauterized,  just  as  the  statues  were. 
Does  any  one  ever  take  the  trouble  now -a- days  to  cauterize  a 
statue? 

Great  care  was  bestowed  on  the  plastering.  Vitruvius  describes 
the  process  at  length  in  his  well-known  Seventh  Book.  As  the 
very  life  of  mural  painting  depends  on  the  preparation  of  the 
wall,  it  may  be  well  to  quote  one  or  two  garbled  passages  from 
Gwilt’s  translation.  Wattling  with  reeds  seems  to  have  been  an 
effective  precaution  against  cracks.  “ When  arched  ceilings  are 
introduced  they  must  be  executed  as  follows  : Parallel  ribs  are 

set  up,  not  more  than  two  feet  apart.  These  ribs  are  fixed  to  the 
ties  of  the  flooring  or  roof  with  iron  nails.  The  ribs  having  been 
fixed,  Greek  reeds,  previously  bruised,  are  tied  to  them  with  cords 
made  of  the  Spanish  broom.  On  the  upper  side  of  the  arch  a com- 
position of  lime  and  sand  is  to  be  laid,  so  that  if  any  water  fall  from 
the  floor  above,  or  from  the  roof,  it  may  not  penetrate.”  [Well- 
thought  of  safe-guard.]  “ The  arches  being  prepared  and  inter- 
woven with  the  reeds,  a coat  is  to  be  laid  on  the  underside.  The 
sand  is  afterwards  introduced  on  it,  and  it  is  then  polished  with 
chalk  or  marble.  ...  If  stucco  be  used  on  timber  partitions, 
which  are  necessarily  constructed  with  spaces  between  the  upright 
and  cross  pieces,  and  thence,  when  smeared  with  clay,  liable  to 
swell  with  the  damp,  and  when  dry  to  shrink  and  cause  cracks, 
the  following  expedient  should  be  used.  After  the  partition  has 
been  covered  with  the  clay,  reeds,  by  the  side  of  each  other  are 
to  be  nailed  thereon  with  bossed  nails  ; and  clay  having  been  laid 


ENCAUSTIC  AND  TEMPERA  OF  THE  ANCIENTS. 


25 


over  these,  and  another  layer  of  reeds  nailed  on  the  former,  but 
crossed  in  their  direction,  so  that  one  set  is  nailed  upright  and  the 
other  horizontally ; then,  as  above  described,  the  sand  and  marble 
coats  and  finishing  are  to  be  followed  up.  The  double  row  of  reeds 
thus  crossed  on  walls  prevents  all  cracks  and  fissures.”  As  to  the 
plastering,  “three  sand  coats  ” — besides  the  rough-cast  — are  recom- 
mended, “ and  the  same  number  of  marble-dust  coats,”  the  walls  will 
then  be  solid  and  not  liable  to  crack.  This,  of  course,  is  the  ideal  wall. 
“ When  only  one  coat  of  sand  and  one  of  marble-dust  are  used,  it  is 
easily  broken.”  But  mortals  were  human  in  those  days,  too,  for  Pom- 
peii testifies  to  instances  of  only  two  coats.  The  Greek  plaster  was 
so  hard  that  slabs  of  it  were  cut  from  the  ancient  walls  and  used  for 
tables.  The  ancients  painted  in  fresco  and  distemper  as  well  as  in 
encaustic.  Their  frescoes  will  be  discussed  later.  There  is  little  to  be 
said  about  their  distemper  work  — which  was  similar  to  any  tempera 
painting.  The  colors  were  tempered  with  a gum,  or  glue,  or  honey, 
egg,  juice  of  the  fig-tree,  milk,  or  other  glutinous  substance,  soluble 
in  water,  that  serves  to  bind  them. 


I shall  close  this  chapter  with  an  illustration  from  Pompeii,  repre- 
senting a paintress  copying  a Hermes  of  Bacchus.  In  her  left  hand 
she  holds  an  oval  palette,  in  the  right  the  cestrum  or  brush  (the  paint- 


26 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


ing  is  somewhat  vague),  which  she  dips  into  the  box,  the  colors  on 
the  palette  being  exhausted.  If  the  cylinder  contains  fire,  then  we 
have  a representation  of  the  encaustic  process  ; if  its  purpose  is  merely 
to  raise  the  box,  we  have  an  illustration  of  the  cold  process. 


Vultures  on  a Ceiling. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE  WALL. 

PROM  the  encaustic 
painting  of  the  ancients, 
described  in  the  pre- 
ceding article,  the  passage 
to  modern  wax -painting 
seems  easy  and  natural.  In 
order  that  its  description 
may  be  unbroken,  the  pre- 
liminary and  very  import- 
ant questions  of  the  wall 
and  ground  will  be  dis- 
cussed in  this  paper,  and 
the  process  of  wax-painting 
in  the  succeeding  one. 

That  the  walls  and  their 
preparation 1 should  be  ob- 
jects of  the  greatest  solicitude  to  the  painter  is  axiomatic.  Even 
had  I the  practical  knowledge,  it  would  be  presumptuous  to  dictate 
methods  of  construction  to  trained  architects.  I can  merely  as  a 
painter  recall  to  their  attention  one  or  two  principles  on  the  observ- 
ance of  which  the  vitality  of  mural  painting  depends.  In  this  way 
their  interest  may  be  sufficiently  aroused  to  practice  what  has  so 
often  been  preached  by  far  wiser  men  than  I.  To  their  indifference, 
or  a misplaced  confidence  in  others,  we  must  attribute  the  cracked 
and  shabby  plastering,  and  peeling  or  disintegrated  paint  by  which 
the  majority  of  structures  are  disfigured. 

1 Three  excellent  papers  have  appeared  in  the  American  Architect , by  Charles 
T.  Davis,  entitled  * Saltpeter  Exudations  upon  Brickwork,’  I and  II,  [Nos.  462 
and  467,  Vol.  XVI.],  and  ■ Hints  on  Plastering,’  [Nos.  488,  Vol.  XVII.].  There  is 
another  interesting  paper  from  the  Builder , entitled  ‘ Damp  Walls,’  [ American 
Architect , No.  372,  Vol.  XIII.] 


28 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


Damp  walls  militate  against  mural  painting  of  all  sorts ; they  may 
be  caused  by  : — 

(1)  Leakage  from  above. 

(2)  Ascension  by  capillary  attraction  from  the  soil. 

(3)  The  presence  of  saltpetre. 

(4)  Condensation  of  moisture. 

(5)  Exposure  of  porous  materials  to  extraordinary  weather  in- 
fluences. 

Naturally  the  cure  for  the  first  of  these  evils  is  to  stop  the  leak  ; 
but  it  would  be  well,  as  Vitruvius  recommends,  to  guard  against  any 
such  contingency  by  protecting  decorated  ceilings  with  a water-proof 
stratum  between  the  paintings  and  roof  or  floor  above. 

Experts  say  that  the  vertical  ascension  of  moisture  by  capillary 
attraction  from  the  soil  has  been  far  more  injurious  to  frescos  than 
the  horizontal  penetration  of  damp  through  the  perpendicular  faces 
of  the  wall.  To  prevent  the  ascension  of  humidity  various  hydro- 
fuges  have  been  employed,  such  as  a water-proof  course  of  asphalt 
felt,  or  of  sheet-lead  covered  on  both  sides  with  pitch  at  the  third 
course  above  the  level  of  the  ground,  or  again,  “ a coating  of  liquid 
asphaltum  laid  on  'pretty  thick,  and  very  carefully,  with  a strong 
brush ; this  is  then  covered  with  coarse  sand,  and  at  the  same  level  a 
projecting  joint  of  hard  asphaltum  is  laid  to  cut  off  completely  the 
capillary  communication  of  the  moisture.”1 

The  mystery  of  saltpetre,  whicli  is  a frequent  cause  of  wet  walls, 
has  hardly  yet  been  solved.  The  presence  of  certain  soluble  alkalies 
that  contribute  to  produce  it  is  more  frequent  in  some  clays  than  in 
others.  The  lime  and  sand  of  the  mortar,  too,  may  contain  its 
chemical  constituents,  which  would  be  greedily  imbibed  by  very 
porous  bricks.  Several  preventives  against  the  penetration  of  salt- 
petre into  the  plaster  have  been  recommended : asphalt  alone,  or 
with  linseed  oil ; resin,  tarred-felt,  etc.  A hydrofuge  of  pitch  and 
sand,  to  exclude  damp  and  saltpetre  from  walls  that  are  to  be  fres- 
coed is  an  old  Lombard  recipe.  “ This  composition  was  thrown  like 
rough-cast  against  the  wall,  and  thus  afforded  so  strong  a hold  for  the 
mortar  laid  on  it,  that  in  breaking  through  walls  thus  protected  the 
mortar  and  hydrofuge  have  never  been  found  to  separate  at  their 
point  of  juncture.”2  But  before  any  such  application  is  made  to  the 
perpendicular  surface  of  the  wall,  all  ascension  of  damp  from  the 
soil  must  be  checked  by  a water-proof  course,  if  possible. 

1 M.  Polenceau’s  method,  quoted  from  A Manual  of  Fresco  and  Encaustic 
Painting,  by  W.  B.  Sarsfield  Taylor.  London:  1843. 

2 W.  B.  Sarsfield  Taylor. 


THE  WALL. 


29 


The  condensation  of  moisture  on  cold  walls  is  a source  of  danger 
to  mural  paintings.  The  outer  walls  are  chiefly  exposed  to  this  pre- 
cipitation of  water.  Ashlar  walls  are  more  liable  to  it  than  brick  A 
double  or  furred  wall  would  probably  be  free  from  it. 

Storm-exposed  walls  may  prove  conductors  of  damp,  unless  pro- 
tected ; but  whether  they  be  coated  with  paint  or  a vitreous  glaze,  or 
boarding,  they  must  first  be  thoroughly  dried  and  guaranteed  from 
ascending  moisture;  otherwise  the  damp  will  be  driven  inwards. 
Paint  applied  externally  is  very  short-lived.  Unless  the  walls  be 
much  exposed,  it  is  far  better  to  apply  the  protecting  coat  on  the 
inside. 

For  stonewalls  that  are  to  be  painted,  perhaps  the  most  efficient 
hydrofuge  is  the  encaustic  process.  The  construction  of  walls  cannot 
always  be  controlled,  or  the  painter  may  be  called  upon  to  decorate  an 
old  stone  wall  — of  a church,  for  instance  — to  which  neither  fur- 
ring nor  pitch  may  be  applied.  Then  a coat  of  wax  and  oil,  or  the 
like,  well  burnt  in,  is  to  be  recommended. 

In  the  year  1811  Gros  was  commissioned  by  the  first  Napoleon  to 
paint  the  dome  of  the  Pantheon.  To  quote  his  own  words,  he 
agreed  “ to  represent  on  it  — the  figures  being  to  the  scale  of  four 
metres  — a glory  of  angels  bearing  to  heaven  the  shrine  of  St.  Gen- 
evieve; below,  Clovis  and  Clotliilde  his  wife,  founders  of  the  first 
church ; farther  on,  Charlemagne,  St.  Louis ; and,  on  the  opposite 
side,  Iiis  Majesty  the  Emperor  and  Her  Majesty  the  Empress  conse- 
crating the  new  church  to  the  worship  of  that  saint.  I ask  for  this 
work  the  sum  of  thirty-six  thousand  francs,  which  is  to  be  paid  me  in 
three  instalments ; to  wit,  twelve  thousand  francs  on  the  completion 
of  my  composition  and  its  approval  by  your  excellency  [Chevalier 
Denon,  Director  General  of  the  Museum  Napoleon]  and  when  I am 
ready  to  paint;  twelve  thousand  francs  when  my  work  is  three-fourths 
done,  and  the  last  twelve  thousand  francs  when,  on  the  removal  of 
the  scaffold,  it  is  open  to  inspection.”1 

As  a preparatory  measure,  the  interior  surface  of  the  stone  was 
first  treated  with  a coat  of  size,  upon  which  was  laid  another  of  white 
lead  and  drying-oil.  Gros  did  not  place  confidence  in  this  prepara- 
tion, and  a special  commission  was  appointed  to  provide  a suitable 
ground.  The  commissioners  were  MM.  Tlienard  and  Darcet,  the 
most  eminent  chemists  of  the  day.  u After  making  some  experi- 
ments not  requisite  to  be  noticed  here,  they  gave  the  preference  to  a 


1 Les  Decorations  du  Pantheon  (troisifeme  article),  par  M.  le  Marquis  Pli.  de 
CHenuevi6res.  Gazette  des  Beaux -Arts,  T.  XXIII,  L.  284.  2d  pdriode. 


30 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


composition  of  one  part  wax  and  three  parts  linseed  oil,  boiled  with 
one-tenth  its  weight  of  litharge.  The  absorption  took  place  readily 
by  means  of  heat,  and  the  liquid  penetrated  the  experimental  stone 
to  the  depth  of  a quarter  of  an  inch.  The  composition,  as  it  cooled, 
acquired  solidity,  and  in  from  six  to  eight  weeks  it  became  hard.” 
The  same  process  was  adopted  for  the  cupola.  “ By  means  of  a 
portable  furnace  the  whole  superficies  was  heated  in  successive  por- 
tions (about  a square  yard  at  each  heating)  by  moving-on  the  caute- 
riurn  (furnace)  horizontally,  parallel  to  the  wall,  as  such  part  became 
sufficiently  heated,  and  then  the  composition  was  applied  with  strong 
brushes,  when  the  stone  was  at  a temperature  of  one  hundred 
degrees.  The  first  application  having  been  quickly  absorbed,  others 
were  repeated  until  the  stone  ceased  to  absorb,  and  as  it  was  rather 
porous,  it  required  the  heating  to  be  repeated  oftener  than  would 
have  been  necessary  for  a stone  of  a closer  texture ; and  in  these 
heatings  care  was  taken  that  they  should  not  be  so  strong  as  to  car- 
bonize the  oil.  At  length,  the  stone  having  refused  to  absorb  any 
more  mastic  [composition,]  and  the  surface  which  it  covered  being  soon 
cool,  smooth  and  dry,  it  received  a coat  of  white  lead  and  oil  well 
ground  together,  and  it  was  upon  this  preparation  that  the  ground- 
work of  the  distinguished  artist,  Gros,  was  painted.”  1 From  various 
indications  I should  infer  that  these  decorations  were  executed  in  an 
oil  medium,  although  there  is  no  direct  statement  to  that  effect. 
Owing  to  conflicting  statements  as  to  their  present  condition,  I wrote 
to  a friend  in  Paris  for  accurate  information.  The  answer,  just  re- 
ceived. is  that  “ they  are  as  fresh  as  if  painted  yesterday  ; ” though 
the  joints  in  the  masonry  tell  as  dark  lines  here  and  there  when 
viewed  very  near.  The  paint  in  these  places  seems  “ to  be  stained, 
not  cracked  or  peeled.” 

The  decorations  shared  the  dynastic  vicissitudes  of  the  epoch.  On 
the  10th  of  August,  1814,  Louis  XVIII  was  substituted  for  Napo- 
leon, the  price  being  raised  to  fifty  thousand  francs.  On  the  31st  of 
March,  1815,  Napoleon  was  reinstated,  and  finally  Louis  XVIII  was 
again  restored,  pictorially  as  well  as  politically.  During  these 
changes  Gros  writes  in  a semi-frantic  state  to  the  minister  (16  April, 
1815)  that  unless  he  can  command  “the  tranquility  of  a definite 
work,”  he  “ will  be  obliged  to  fall  back  on  portraiture,  sorry  resource 
of  our  art  and  the  shoal  of  artists  called  to  noble  undertakings.” 
On  the  completion  of  the  painting  in  1824,  Gros  was  created  a baron. 
It  has  seemed  worth  while  to  describe  at  some  length  the  condi- 


1 Taylor. 


THE  WALL 


3] 


tions  under  which  this  decoration  was  painted,  seeing  that  the 
evidence  (by  which  the  conduct  of  similar  undertakings  may  be 
guided)  is  incontestable,  and  that  it  has  already  stood  the  test  of 
over  half  a century.  Moreover,  the  unnecessary  and  premature 
decay  of  William  M.  Hunt’s  mural  work  in  the  Capitol  at  Albany, 
executed  less  than  ten  years  ago,  has  appalled  every  one  interested  in 
monumental  painting,  and  cast  a certain  discredit  on  this  noble  art. 
Perhaps  the  foregoing  description  may  serve  as  an  antidote.  MM. 
Thdnard  and  Darcet  recommend  their  composition  (the  wax,  oil  and 
litharge)  for  the  preparation  of  stucco  on  ceilings.  It  penetrates  the 
stucco  deeply,  renders  it  as  hard  as  stone,  and  effectually  wards  off 
damp. 

When  walls  are  constructed  with  a view  to  subsequent  decoration, 
all  pigment-destroying  agencies  can  be  eliminated.  A double  wall, 
with  an  air-space  between,  is  a safe  foundation  for  mural  painting  of 
all  kinds,  provided  that  the  air-space  be  well  ventilated,  and  the 
bondings  damp-proof.  The  inner  wall  at  least  should  be  brick,  but 
not  very  soft  or  porous  brick,  from  which  plaster  is  liable  to  fall, 
as  it  yields  its  water  of  hydration  too  quickly,  even  though  the  bricks 
be  thoroughly  drenched  before  the  plaster  is  “ rendered.”  If  the 
paintings  are  not  to  be  in  “fresco”  — which,  as  we  shall  see  later, 
calls  for  a backing  of  brick  — iron  lathing  would  probably  be  the 
safest  foundation.  The  wall  behind  the  ironwork  should  be  solid 
and  dry,  and  if  double,  so  much  the  better.  Furring  and  lathing  of 
wood  are  not  reliable.  Wattled  reeds  are  recommended  by  Vitruvius 
to  prevent  cracks,  and  they  are  still  used  in  Germany  and  Italy. 
Architects  should  familiarize  themselves  with  the  mysteries  of  plas- 
ter. No  all-embracing  rule  can  be  formulated,  owing  to  the  varying 
properties  of  local  ingredients ; but  these  should  be  thoroughly  mas- 
tered. Much  of  the  rotten  and  defaced  plastering  is  undoubtedly 
due  to  bad  walls  and  settling  foundations;  but  a great  deal  is  also 
attributable  to  an  inferior  quality  of  plaster  and  to  hasty  methods  of 
applying  it.  We  know  that  our  plaster,  as  a whole,  is  wretched, 
while  that  of  a people  who  flourished  some  two  thousand  years  ago 
(the  Romans)  was,  and  one  might  almost  say  is,  excellent.  The 
latter  carefully  applied  many  coats  of  a superior  compound,  while 
we  hastily  lay  on  but  half  the  number  of  an  inferior  one. 

Of  late  years  so  many  constructive  improvements  and  appliances 
have  been  invented,  that  it  is  astounding  to  see  the  same  old  defective 
methods  of  plastering  in  vogue.  Apparently  “ common  lath-and- 
plaster  still  wins  nine  times  out  of  ten.”  For  buon  fresco  plaster 


32 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


is  a necessity,  but  buon  fresco  is  a process  rarely  used  by  American 
decorators.  Why,  then,  has  not  plaster  long  since  been  banished 
from  first-class  buildings,  and  its  place  supplied  by  some  reliable 
cement?  Where  the  need  is  felt,  the  thing  needed  is  generally 
forthcoming.  If  reliance  is  to  be  placed  on  an  article  that  recently 
appeared  in  these  columns  (Vol.  xviii.,  No.  502),  “ Robinson’s 
cement”  would  seem  to  be  a good  substitute  for  plaster.  Its  use 
would  do  away  with  the  “pit”  and  all  the  clumsy  appliances  of  the 
plasterer.  The  time  occupied  in  slaking  the  lime  and  drying  the 
successive  coats  would  be  saved.  The  rendering  coat,  mixed  with 
sand,  sets  at  once,  and  the  finishing  coat,  with  or  without  sand,  may 
be  applied  directly,  forming  a homogeneous  body  that  is  very  hard 
at  the  end  of  a few  hours.  It  has  “excellent  fire-proof  qualities,” 
and  “ has  been  carefully  tested  for  painting  in  several  ways  by  a 
well-known  London  decorator,  and  with  entirely  satisfactory  results, 
showing  that  it  can  be  applied  and  painted  upon  at  once,  as  with 
Keene’s  or  Parian,  or  it  may  be  left  to  get  dry,  and  then  painted, 
as  within  three  weeks  of  being  rendered  it  is  thoroughly  dry  and 
ready  for  decoration,  and  will  stand  fine  colors  perfectly.  With 
other  cements,  if  left,  the  period  that  must  elapse  before  they  can 
be  painted  must  be  measured  by  months  instead  of  weeks.  In 
using  it  no  notice  need  be  taken  of  the  time  of  year  or  the  state  of 
the  weather.”  This  cement  can  be  manufactured  at  much  less 
cost  than  any  of  the  others.  The  principal  cement-works  of  the 
patentees,  Messrs.  Joseph  Robinson  & Co.,  “are  situated  at  Kenthill, 
near  Carlisle  (England),  where  they  have  immense  deposits  of  the 
purest  alabaster.”  1 

Another  cement  worthy  of  notice  (doubtless  there  are  others)  is  the 
Merrit  Asbestine  Plaster,  which  has  the  advantage  of  being  manufac- 
tured in  this  country.  It  is  unnecessary  to  dilate  here  on  its  fire-proof 
qualities.  Though  not  absolutely  water-proof,  it  is  vastly  more  so  than 
ordinary  plaster.  It  is  made  from  asbestine,  a mineral  containing  over 
ninety  per  cent  of  silicate  of  magnesium,  with  a small  proportion  of 
aluminum,  iron  and  water.  This  is  ground  to  a fine  powder,  and  then 
mixed  with  caustic  potash  and  silicate  of  soda.  When  needed  for  use, 
it  is  mixed  with  sand.  It  hardens  in  a few  days  to  the  consistency  of 
stone,  and  is  very  adhesive,  adhering  even  to  plate-glass.  Instead 
of  a wood  or  wire-latliing,  thin  corrugated  sheet-iron  plates  are 
used,  nailed  to  ordinary,  or  fire-proof,  furrings  of  pulp.  The  corru- 
gations are  very  close,  and  only  one-eighth  of  an  inch  deep.  Of 


1 American  Architect , Vol.  XVIII,  No.  502. 


‘ The  Temptation  ’ 


(Fresco)  by  Raphael  Sanzio  (1483 ? - 1520).  Stanze 
of  the  Vatican,  Rome. 


THE  WALL. 


33 


course,  the  plaster  could  be  applied  directly  to  the  wall.  I saw  a 
specimen  of  it  spread  on  a thin  board  that  had  warped  considera- 
bly, but  the  plaster  had  not  cracked.  Its  expense  is  not  much,  if 
any,  greater  than  ordinary  plaster,  taking  time  and  labor  into  con- 
sideration. Of  its  excellence  as  a ground  for  painting  it  is  impos- 
sible yet  to  speak  with  certainty.  Time  alone  can  decide  the  ques- 
tion, notwithstanding  all  “claims.”  Several  decorators  have  ex- 
perimented on  it  with  perfect  success,  first  having  given  it  a coat 
' of  suitable  size.* 1  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  some 
cements  are  liable  eventually  to  effloresce,  and  act  chemically  on 
the  colors.  While  on  this  particular  cement,  the  colors  might, 
and  probably  would,  stand  long  enough  for  all  practical  purposes, 
could  they  be  guaranteed  for  an  important  mural  composition  that 
is  expected  to  last?  Professor  Lewis  M.  Norton,  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Institute  of  Technology,  to  whom  I am  indebted  for  much  val- 
uable information,  while  heartily  praising  the  fire-proof  qualities  of 
this  plaster,  shared  my  doubts  as  to  the  durability  of  any  superposed 
pigments.  He  feared  efflorescence  and  chemical  action.  Of  course 
these  fears  might  never  be  realized.  I have  written  at  some  length 
of  these  cements,  hoping  that  good  might  come  of  it.  The  deplor- 
able state  of  our  plastering  will,  I trust,  justify  my  prolixity. 


1 Since  writing  the  above  paragraphs  on  the  Robinson  and  Merrit  cements 
(which  I prefer  to  leave  unchanged,  in  the  hope  of  stimulating  the  ingenious), 

I have  conferred  with  Professor  T.  M.  Clark,  Professor  of  Architecture,  Mass. 
Inst,  of  Technology.  He  distrusts  silicate  of  soda,  which  he  thinks  is  almost 
certain  to  cause  efflorescence.  Of  cements  in  general,  he  writes  : “ I don’t  think 
any  cement  would  be  very  favorable  for  painting,  at  least  without  particular 
treatment.  Mixing  with  sand  would  give  it  key  enough  for  paint,  but  there  is 
usually  more  or  less  of  an  efflorescence,  much  slighter  than  that  caused  by  sili- 
cate of  soda,  but  winch,  in  my  experience,  works  under  the  film  of  paint  and 
separates  it,  especially  if  the  back  of  the  work  is  exposed  to  any  dampness.  rl  he 
only  remedy  I have  ever  found  for  this  is  to  mix  a large  proportion  of  oil  with 
the  cement  before  putting  it  on.  This  nearly  or  quite  stops  the  efflorescence, 
and  might  make  the  cement  good  for  painting  on,  but  very  little  is  known  about 
this  part  of  the  subject.”  Again,  he  writes  : “Keene’s  cement  is  smooth  and 
hard,  something  like  plaster-of-Paris,  but  harder  and  less  absorbent.  [ have 
never  seen  any  indication  of  efflorescence  on  it  which  seemed  to  come  from  the 
cement  itself.  Keene’s  cement  is  rather  disposed  to  crack.  There  is  a process  of 
crystallization  which  goes  on  for  years  in  cement  of  the  ordinary  kind,  and  the 
blue  efflorescence  may  be  a product  of  this.” 

Keene’s  cement  was  used  by  Messrs.  Sturgis  & Brigham  in  the  Boston  Mu- 
seum of  Fine  Arts  for  the  architraves  and  baseboards.  It  has  cracked  in  some 
places,  and  effloresced  in  others,  where  the  wall  is  damp.  Mr.  Sturgis  says  of 
it:  “ Beware  of  dampness.”  Robert  Jackson,  an  Englishman,  (and  late  mana- 
ger for  Mr.  Sturgis),  who  has  had  a large  experience  with  Keene’s  cement  both 
in  England  and  America,  would  trust  it  as  a ground  for  mural  paintiDg.  He 
says  that  it  should  receive  its  first  coat  of  paint  before  it  has  set.  This  coat 
should  contain  no  lead,  and  the  paint  should  be  diluted  in  a liquid  composed  of 
three  parts  turpentine,  one  part  boiled  oil,  with  a small  quantity  of  litharge. 
Owing  to  a disregard  of  these  rules,  the  paint  has  often  deteriorated.  No  oil 
is  to  be  mixed  with  the  cement.  He  preferred  Keene’s  to  the  other  cements, 
though  he  did  not  know  from  experience  anything  about  Robinson’s. 

Professor  Clark  thinks,  with  me,  that  our  plaster  and  methods  of  plastering 
could  be  greatly  bettered,  as  will  be  shown  in  a subsequent  paper. 


34 


MUKAL  PAINTING. 


A painter  is  frequently  required  to  decorate  an  existing  but  unre- 
liable plaster  wall.  When  the  space  to  be  decorated  is  not  very 
large  the  safest  way  is  to  fasten  artists’  canvas  to  it  with  a composi- 
tion to  be  specified  hereafter.  This  is  a somewhat  expensive  method, 
yet  worth  while  when  the  picture  to  be  painted  is  valuable ; not  only 
because  it  ensures  the  painting  against  plaster-cracks;  but  also  for 
the  reason  that  it  can  be  more  readily  detached  in  case  of  need.  Can- 
vas, moreover,  is  innocuous  to  the  superposed  colors ; lime  is  not  al- 
ways so,  unless  well  covered  with  several  preparatory  coats  of  paint. 
Lime  saponifies  oil,  which  quickly  turns  yellow  in  the  absence  of 
strong  light.  For  oil  paintings  the  regular  prepared  canvas  as  sold 
by  colormen  is  suitable,  but  for  wax-painting  the  unprepared  mate- 
rial is  preferable.  When  comparatively  large  surfaces  are  to  be 
covered,  the  unprepared  canvas  is  better  even  for  oil  painting,  as  it 
can  be  attached  to  the  wall  more  easily  and  securely,  the  composition 
penetrating  its  meshes.  The  only  advantage  of  prepared  canvas  is 
that  it  can  be  painted  upon  at  once.  The  composition  is  apt  to  per- 
colate through  the  meshes  of  the  raw  stuff,  and  should  be  given  time 
to  dry.  It  is  difficult  to  procure  wide  pieces  of  unprepared  canvas 
in  this  country.  A few  years  ago  the  widest  in  the  French  market 
was  about  four  metres  ; a greater  width  being  desired,  the  canvas 
must  be  pieced.  But  when  the  wall-space  to  be  covered  is  very  great, 
this  method  is  usually  abandoned.  Linen  canvas  is  better  than  cot- 
ton. To  fasten  it  to  the  wall  demands  care  and  patience.  Trusting 
too  much  to  the  readiness  of  inexperienced  artisans,  I have  under- 
gone several  mortifying  and  costly  experiences.  Like  the  making  of 
good  coffee  it  seems  so  simple  and  easy  that  almost  any  neophyte  is 
willing  to  guarantee  success.  Such  however,  is  not  the  case.  There 
may  be  those  who  have  succeeded  with  glue  or  paste ; I have  not. 
Blisters  invariably  appeared  on  the  following  day,  when  the  prepared 
canvas  was  used  for  large  spaces,  and  even  the  unprepared  behaved 
badly.  Small  spaces  present  no  great  difficulties.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  glue  does  not  resist  moisture.  The  following  composition 
has  not  belied  its  recommendation  : — 

70  lbs.  white  lead. 

2 qts.  boiled  oil. 

1 pt.  dammar  varnish. 

1 pt.  Japan. 

Doubtless  other  ingredients  or  proportions  might  be  used  ; but  the 
basis  should  be  white  lead.  An  unpainted  wall  needs  a priming 
coat.  (It  would  not  be  unwise  where  there  is  danger  of  damp  to 
precede  the  priming  coat  with  an  encaustic  or  cold-wax  treatment). 


THE  WALL. 


35 


Then  a very  heavy  coat  of  the  composition  should  be  laid  on  with 
broad,  flat  brushes  and  the  raw  canvas  immediately  applied.  When  this 
is  large  four  or  five  men,  at  least,  are  needed.  It  should  afterwards  be 
rolled  (with  rollers)  and  smoothed  with  the  hands  for  hours  till  it  is 
perfectly  flat.  This  operation  exacts  patience.  When  prepared 
canvas  is  used,  a coat  of  the  composition  should  be  laid  on  the  back 
immediately  before  its  application  to  the  wall.  In  either  case  the 
edges  should  be  nailed,  or  fastened  with  a moulding. 

It  is  a frequent  custom  to  attach  the  canvases  to  a “ keyed  ” stretcher, 
and  then  fasten  it  to  the  wall  with  mouldings.  This  is  not  a good 
method,  unless  the  canvases  are  small,  and  the  mouldings  easily  re- 
moved to  “ key  up  ” the  stretchers.  Canvases  are  in  a way  barome- 
ters, shrinking  or  expanding  according  to  the  dryness  or  humidity  of 
the  atmosphere.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  prevent  the  “ bellying  ” 
of  stretched  canvas,  placed  against  a cold  wall  in  damp  weather,  and 
this  appearance  of  flabbiness  is  very  unpleasant.  The  use  of  stretch- 
ers is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  habit  of  painting  mural  pictures  in  the 
studio,  a convenient  and  fatigue-saving  habit,  but  antagonistic  to 
scholarly  decoration.  Not  only  does  it  obtain  to-day  with  good  ar- 
tists, but  with  the  very  best,  and  I should  have  great  hesitancy  in 
condemning  it  were  I not  backed  by  the  demi-gods  of  the  wall,  when 
mural  painting  was  at  its  zenith.  The  great  virtue  of  monumental 
paintings  lies  in  their  harmonious  relations  to  their  surroundings. 
The  conditions  of  light  and  shade  are  far  too  complex  to  be  divined 
by  the  most  skilful  and  experienced.  The  freaks  that  distance,  alti- 
tude, or  curvature  of  surface  play  with  lines,  utterly  baffle  human  pres- 
cience. When  it  is  considered  that  color  is  an  entirely  relative  qual- 
ity, how  can  its  settings — settings  that  change  with  changing  light — 
be  ignored  ? or  rather  how  can  they  be  imagined  in  the  foreign  en- 
vironments of  the  studio  ? On  merely  sentimental  grounds  (which 
are  never  very  sure  foundations  it  must  be  confessed)  it  seems  inartis- 
tic to  paint  mural  pictures  in  the  studio.  The  studies  and  cartoons 
must  necessarily  be  prepared  in  it.  There  is  something  stimulating 
in  the  expectant  wall;  and  when  that  wall  is  vast  and  imposing,  as 
it  often  is  in  church  or  hall,  it  is  absolutely  inspiring ! Nothing  is 
more  difficult  or  compromising  than  to  raise  the  key  or  change  the 
tonalily  of  a picture;  yet  studio-painted  decorations  must  frequently 
be  subjected  to  such  ultra  measures,  or  else  discord  with  their  sur- 
roundings. How  tasteless  to  paint  a ceiling  in  the  studio,  and  then 
exhibit  it  on  the  perpendicular  walls  of  an  exhibition-room,  yet  this 
is  done  I On  mechanical  grounds  there  are  objections  to  studio- 


36 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


painted  decorations ; the  attachment  of  canvass  to  the  wall  has  al- 
ready been  described,  and  it  can  easily  be  imagined  that  there  is  great 
danger  of  percolation  of  white-lead  through  the  meshes  of  the  canvas, 
in  places  where  the  picture  may  be  thinly  painted.  Such  a contin- 
gency must  be  guarded  against  by  a very  heavily-painted  ground ; 
but  at  best  the  rolling  and  unrolling  of  large  pictures,  and  excessive 
handling  demanded  by  the  white-lead  process,  are  very  compromising. 

There  is  a class  of  pictures  that  may  be  confounded  with,  yet  are 
not  properly  mural  paintings.  Such,  for  instance,  are  the  altar- 
pieces,  of  which  so  many  are  painted  by  the  great  decorators.  It 
was  desirable  that  they  should  be  movable ; hence  they  must  be  re- 
garded as  easel  pictures,  and  consequently  not  within  the  scope  oi 
this  article. 


CHAPTER  V. 


MODERN  ENCAUSTIC. 

IN  order  to  maintain 
the  continuity  of  these 
somewhat  extended 
and  interrupted  remarks 
on  encaustic  painting, 
as  well  as  to  refresh  the 
memory  of  the  reader 
without  necessitating  a 
reference  to  a preceding 
chapter,  it  will  be  well 
summarily  to  restate  the 
formulas  for  ancient  en- 
caustic. 

1.  Hot  painting  with 
colored  sticks  of  wax  and 
resin,  liquified  by  heat, 
and  applied  with  a brush ; 
then  blended  and  mod- 
elled with  heated  cestra. 

2.  Derivative  pro- 
cesses. 

(a.)  Hot  painting,  as 
above,  with  colored  sticks 
of  wax  and  resin,  but 
softened  by  the  addition 
of  an  oil. 

From  a drawing  by  Raphael.  (&.)  Cold  painting 

of  wax  and  resin,  softened  by  oil,  and  applied  like  crayons  of  pastel; 
then  modelled  with  cold  cestra.  (c.)  Cold  painting  with  colored 
sticks  of  wax  and  resin,  dissolved  in  an  essential  and  volatile  oil, 
then  applied  and  finished  with  the  brush. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  last  two  processes  arc  not  encaustic,  seeing 


38 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


that  there  is  no  “ burning  in.”  Modern  wax-painting  is  but  a vari- 
ation of  the  last  process.  The  media  may  differ,  but  they  all  have  a 
wax  basis.  Here  is  a medium  that  I have  used  with  good  mechanical 
results : 

Eight  sheets  of  apothecary’s  white  wax  — about  one-half  ounce  each, 

One-half  pound  Venice  turpentine, 

One  quart  spirits  of  turpentine. 

The  wax  and  Venice  turpentine  to  be  melted  together,  then  the 
spirits  of  turpentine  to  be  stirred  in  gradually,  and  the  whole  made 
to  boil.  If  the  medium  be  too  stiff,  add  spirits  of  turpentine.  It  can 
be  kept  for  an  indefinite  time  without  injury.  Its  inventor  is  Mr. 
F.  D.  Millet.  It  will  be  seen  on  comparison  that  it  is  composed  of 
substantially  the  same  ingredients  as  were  used  by  the  ancients,  viz. 
— a resinous  matter  (the  Venice  turpentine),  wax,  and  an  essential 
oil  (the  spirits  of  turpentine) . Resin  is  merely  what  is  left  after 
distilling  off  the  volatile  oil  from  turpentine,  and  gives  the  necessary 
hardness  to  the  medium  in  drying.  The  unctuous  nature  of  Venice 
turpentine  — an  oleo-resinous  substance  — facilitates  the  working  of 
the  colors.  This  medium  combines  perfectly  well  with  the  ordinary 
oil  colors,  or  linseed  oil  may  be  added  to  it ; but  experience  and  in- 
vestigation have  led  me  to  avoid  oil  on  all  possible  occasions.  It  is 
the  darkening  and  destroying  agent  in  paintings,  and  should  be 
reduced  to  a minimum,  especially  in  decorative  works.  “ Mellowing  ” 
does  them  no  good,  though  often  favorable  to  easel  pictures.  Oil, 
moreover,  is  apt  to  compromise  the  dead  surface  guaranteed  by  the 
pure  wax  medium.  It  is  customary  to  adulterate  wax  with  spermaceti 
in  order  to  increase  its  whiteness.  Pure  wax  should  be  asked  for. 

PREPARATION  OF  THE  WALL-SURFACE  OR  GROUND. 

The  wall  itself  was  fully  discussed  in  the  preceding  paper.  If  it 
be  of  a porous  nature  — such  as  stone,  plaster,  unprimed  wood,  raw 
canvas,  or  the  like — saturate  it  with  the  medium,  i.e.,  till  it  ceases  to 
absorb,  and  leave  it  for  a few  days  to  dry.  The  encaustic  process  is 
not  a necessity,  nor  have  I ever  used  it ; but  were  the  picture  to  be 
painted  directly  on  a stone  ground,  I should  strongly  recommend  the 
“ burning-in  ” of  the  medium.  First  heat  the  wall  to  a temperature 
of  100°,  as  previously  described,  then  lay  on  the  wax  medium,  re- 
peating the  operation  if  necessary.  The  cold  stone  might  not  absorb 
the  medium  without  heat.  Another  method  would  be  to  heat  the  me- 
dium till  it  flows  freely,  then  quickly  to  apply  it.  Or,  again,  the  heat 
might  be  applied  after  the  coat,  or  coats,  of  the  medium,  according  to 


MODERN  ENCAUSTIC. 


39 


the  Yitruvian  method.  Some  artists  prefer  a white  ground  to  work  on. 
In  this  case,  lay  on  a coat  of  white  lead,  or  zinc,  ground  in  the  medium, 
after  the  wall  has  been  well  saturated  with  it  and  allowed  to  dry. 
When  the  picture  is  to  be  painted  on  a ground  of  oil  paint,  I should 
advise  the  addition  of  a small  amount  of  linseed  oil  to  the  medium, 
for  the  first  painting  — not  subsequently  — to  prevent  possible  scaling. 

THE  CARTOON. 

This  should  be  carefully  prepared  in  the  studio.  Extemporizing 
is  a dangerous  policy,  except  within  definite  outlines.  If  the  figures 
are  large,  the  painter  loses  all  sense  of  proportion  on  the  staging.1 
Hence  the  need  of  a cartoon  drawn  to  the  final  scale.  It  is  not  essen- 
tial that  the  cartoon  should  be  more  than  outlined.  Any  detail  of  light 
and  shade  would  be  effaced  by  “ pouncing,”  and,  even  if  a tracing 
should  be  made  from  the  cartoon  for  pouncing  purposes,  it  would  be 
difficult  — at  times  impossible  — so  to  place  the  cartoon  that  a simul- 
taneous view  might  be  had  of  it  and  the  wall  to  be  painted.  The  artist 
will  doubtless  need,  on  the  staging,  a small  study  of  his  picture  and 
detail-drawings;  but,  above  all,  he  should  approach  the  wall  thoroughly 
conversant  with  his  work,  and  with  a definite  purpose.  The  wall  is 
no  place  for  vacillation  or  experiments. 

POUNCING. 

This  process  is  almost  too  well  known  to  describe.  Prick  the  out- 
lines of  the  cartoon  with  a large  pin  — the  nearer  the  pin-holes  the 
better.  Then,  on  some  soft  linen,  or  muslin,  pour  powdered  char- 
coal, and  tie  it  up  like  a bag.  The  medicated  charcoal  sold  by  drug- 
gists is  very /fine,  and  well  adapted  for  the  purpose.2  Having  attached 
the  cartoon  to  the  wall,  rub  the  bag  freely  over  it.  On  removing  the 
cartoon  the  pricked  outline  should  be  clearly  visible  on  the  wall.3 


1 A small  concave  reducing  lens  is  an  assistance  to  the  painter  on  a staging. 
By  it  s means  he  can  get  a better  idea  of  ensemble , though  it  is  never  tantamount 
to  a view  of  the  work  from  a distance.  I have  often  used  both  a hand-glass  and 
a reducing  lens,  looking  at  the  reflected  image  through  the  lens;  this  approxi- 
mates more  closely  the  distant  view,  but  is  not  equivalent  to  it. 

2 Any  fine  ground  color  may  be  substituted  for  charcoal. 

3 Under  certain  conditions  the  stereopticon,  or  magic-lantern,  may  profitably 
be  used  for  the  transfer  of  the  sketch  to  the  wall.  I am  indebted  to  Mr.  J.  W. 
Black,  of  Boston,  the  well-known  photographer,  who  transferred  William  Hunt’s 
sketches  to  the  capitol  walls  at  Albany,  for  the  following  information.  The 
study  or  sketch  for  the  picture  to  be  painted  is  first  photographed  on  a glass  slide 
suited  to  the  stereopticon,  and  then,  by  means  of  the  calcium-light,  its  image  is 
projected  on  the  wall  magnified  to  the  desired  scale.  The  calcium-light  is  a 
necessity,  and  naturally  demands  a supply  of  gas.  The  stereopticon  should  be 
about  twice  the  greatest  dimension  of  the  picture  distant  Horn  it,  and  at  right 
angles  to  a straight  line  drawn  perpendicularly  from  its  centre  to  the  instru- 
ment. This  is  the  ideal  position.  It  can  be  used  at  a greater  distance,  but  not 
much  nearer.  The  scale  of  the  picture  can  be  increased  or  diminished  by  ad- 
vancing or  withdrawing  the  instrument.  Studies  of  separate  figures,  if  superior 


40 


MURAL  PAIJMTING. 


MATERIALS. 

It  is  not  my  object  to  lay  down  a method  of  painting.  It  is  taken 
for  granted  that  any  one  who  would  hazard  a mural  picture  is  already 
familiar  with  oils  and  water-colors,  or  at  least  distemper.  Methods 
are,  in  a great  measure,  personal,  and  no  words  can  adequately  de- 
scribe them.  Wax-painting  is  not  unlike  oil-painting,  or  distemper. 
At  the  outset  it  will  undoubtedly  prove  troublesome  to  one  unac- 
customed to  it.  Practice  alone  can  overcome  its  apparent  inconven- 
iences — apparent  because  short  lived,  and  eventually  real,  conven- 
iences. The  rapid  drying  of  the  colors,  for  instance,  is  harrassing  at 
first,  but  in  reality  very  advantageous,  as  it  permits  the  completion 
of  the  work  in  hand  at  a sitting,  or  the  renewal  of  it  the  day  follow- 
ing, without  the  slightest  danger  of  subse- 
quent cracking. 

(a.)  Brushes.  These  must  be  ohosen  a? 
in  oils,  to  suit  the  handling  of  the  painter, 
and  the  size  of  the  picture.  They  should 
be  thoroughly  cleaned  in  turpentine  at  the 
end  of  the  day's  work,  and  afterwards 
washed  with  soap  and  water.  Soap  does 
not  remove  the  wax  color  from  the  brushes, 
nor  from  the  hands.  During  the  work  it 
is  frequently  necessary  to  rinse  the  brushes 
in  “ turps  ” (I  like  the  familiar  word),  to 
prevent  clogging. 

( [b .)  Palette.  Any  large  palette  will  do  : 
but  I can  recommend  one  so  weighted  that 
the  great  and  numbing  strain  on  the  thumb 

can  be  avoided  when  the  palette  is  heavily  charged  with  color 
and  the  necessarily  large  palette-cups.  The  two  dark  circles  repre- 
sent leaden  discs,  which  so  balance  the  palette  that  its  whole  weight 
falls  on  the  arm,  and  is  scarcely  perceptible.  These  discs  are  placed 

to  those  in  the  sketch,  may  afterwards  be  substituted,  or  other  desirable  changes 
made.  The  outline  cast  by  the  stereopticon  is  not  a sharp  one,  so  that  its  use  by 
a person  unfamiliar  with  the  drawing  would  be  precluded.  Mr.  Black  thinks  the 
instrument  could  be  perfected  so  as  to  cast  a sharp  outline.  As  the  stereopticon 
should  directly  face  the  painting,  a special  staging  must  often  be  constructed.  It 
cannot  be  used  for  vaulted  or  domical  surfaces;  nor-for  ceilings  unless  modified 
so  as  to  worl^perpendicularly.  Its  expense  is  not  great  — about  $3  per  hour.  It 
does  away  with  the  large  cartoons  — though  not  in  fresco  painting.  For  some 
reasons  the  enlarged  cartoon  is  preferable,  especially  if  executed  by  the  artist 
himself.  The  drawing  would  probably  gain  in  grandeur  and  accuracy.  But  to 
avoid  tiresome  repetitions  of  the  same  motif’  the  artist  usually  delegates  the 
enlargement  of  his  sketch  to  assistants.  The  handling  of  a cartoon  on  a staging 
is  somewhat  awkward.  Perhaps  the  greatest  advantage  offered  by  the  use  o;  the 
stereopticon  is  the  possibility  of  experimenting  in  scale. 


MODERN  ENCAUSTIC. 


41 


where  they  do  not  come  in  contact  with  the  colors.  They  might  be 
fastened  to  the  underside  of  the  palette,  or  another  metal  might  be 
substituted.  Two  palettes  are  a convenience,  and  a studio-boy  a 
necessity.  Every  now  and  then  he  should  free  the  palette  from  the 
sticky  and  rapidly-drying  colors.  Cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness, 
and  foul  mixtures  are  not  to  be  tolerated  in  mural  painting. 

(c.)  Palette -cups.  They  should  be  large  enough  to  accommo- 
date the  broad  brushes,  and  provided  with  a screw  top.  Two  are 
necessary  — one  for  the  medium,  the  other  for  spirits  of  turpen- 
tine. 

(d.)  The  Colors.  These  should  be  ground  in  the  medium  by  an 
artist’s  colorman.  House-painters  do  not  grind  their  colors  fine 
enough.  Some  may  be  kept  in  tin  cans  or  glass  jars,  while  others 
should  be  tubed.  When  used  in  large  quantities  the  cans,  or  jars, 
are  more  convenient.  Personal  experience  suggested  the  making  of 
cans  with  screw-covers  — these  answer  their  purpose  admirably. 
Glass  preserve-jars,  with  screw-tops,  are  not  bad,  but  they  are  liable 
to  be  broken  in  transportation.  The  same  colors  may  be  used  in 
wax  as  in  oil  painting.1  With  almost  every  medium,  preference 
should  be  given  to  the  earth  colors.  They  are  durable  and  innocuous. 
If  the  colors  become  too  dry,  add  more  medium;  if  too  hard  from 
the  congelation  of  the  wax,  heat  them.  The  more  medium  used,  the 
better  for  the  durability  of  the  picture ; but  an  excess  of  medium 
robs  the  color  of  its  body.  When  it  is  desired  to  apply  the  colors  in 
a semi-liquid  state,  dilute  them  in  the  medium  and  spirits  of  turpentine 
(turpentine  must  not  be  used  with  the  whites),  but  better  still,  heat  and 
apply  them  rapidly.  Zinc  white  is  to  be  preferred  to  white  lead. 
It  has  not  so  much  body,  but  is  whiter  and  less  injurious  to  the  health. 
When  more  covering  power  is  desired,  use  white  lead  for  the  first 
painting,  and  zinc  subsequently.  The  most  serious  objections  to 
white  lead  are  to  be  found  in  its  combination  with  oil,  which  yellows 
it.  Sulphuretted-hydrogen  gas  blackens  it.  It  would  be  irrelevant 
to  discuss  these  questions  now,  because  the  medium  is  wax,  not  oil. 
They  will  be  treated  later,  under  oil-painting.  Such,  however,  is  the 
resisting  power  of  wax  to  acids  and  certain  gases,  that  white  lead 
ground  in  oil  and  mixed  with  the  wax  medium  remains  unchanged 
under  a stream  of  sulphuretted-hydrogen  gas,  when  the  same  pig- 
ment without  the  wax  turns  to  a deep  umber,  almost  as  dark  as 
printer’s  ink.  In  mural-painting  — especially  when  the  medium  is 


1 It  will  be  seen  later  that  certain  dangerous  oil  pigments  are  perfectly  safe 
when  mixed  with  wax.  Hence  a more  extended  palette  in  the  latter  medium. 


42 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


wax,  — it  is  well  to  prepare  the  frequently-recurring  tones  before- 
hand, and  not  mix  them  on  the  palette  when  needed,  as  in  easel 
work.  In  the  first  place,  the  work  will  thereby  be  more  homoge- 
neous, and  secondly,  a great  deal  of  time  will  be  saved.  Much  color- 
mixing, while  the  work  is  in  progress,  impedes  the  flow*  of  ideas. 
Foul  mixtures  are  avoided  if  the  supply  is  equal  to  the  demand; 
when  it  is  not,  thinness  or  slovenliness  is  the  result.  Finally,  the 
painter  is  independent  of  the  uncertain  light  that  prevails  so  fre- 
quently during  mural  work.  Particularly  for  flesh,  he  will  find  it 
very  convenient  to  mix  and  tube  in  sufficient  quantities  two  or  three 
dominant  tones.  A final  coat  of  wax  medium  may  be  applied  to 
the  completed  painting,  so  as  to  bind  the  whole  together  and  prevent 
the  detachment  of  loose  particles.  I say  may  be  applied,  for  it  is 
not  always  necessary, — at  least  I have  not  found  it  so.  The  painter 
can  quickly  decide  whether  it  be  requisite  or  not  by  passing  his  hand 
over  the  surface  of  the  picture.  If  particles  of  color  are  rubbed  off, 
apply  the  medium,  taking  great  care  not  to  disturb  the  under  colors, 
which  a stiff  brush  will  do,  as  they  are  soluble  in  the  medium  — 
unless  they  are  very  hard.  With  time  they  become  exceedingly 
hard,  thanks  to  the  resin.  In  some  wax  processes  the  final  coat 
of  medium  is  followed  by  a “ burning-in  ” with  heaters,  and  by  a 
subsequent  polishing.  This  is  substantially  the  encaustic  process  for 
walls  (previously  quoted)  recommended  by  Pliny  and  Vitruvius. 
On  certain  grounds,  such  as  porous  stone  or  plaster,  this  “ burning- 
in  ” might  be  advantageous,  even  without  the  polishing.  But  on 
canvas,  gold,  oil-paint,  or  any  non-absorbent  substance,  it  would  obvi- 
ously be  useless.  Cauterization  causes  the  colors  to  shine  slightly, 
even  without  the  polishing.  Though  a slight  shine  may,  at  times,  be 
desirable,  inasmuch  as  the  colors  are  thereby  deepened,  yet  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten  the  mural  painter  wishes  to  avoid  gloss  — the  delicate, 
airy,  and  dead  tints  being  the  great  charm  of  his  work.  Per  contra , 
a polish  on  easel  pictures,  executed  in  wax,  may  be  very  desirable. 
With  our  modern  methods  of  impasto  for  large  works,  the  brushing 
might  be  compromised  by  the  encaustic  process.  Were  I to  use  this 
process  at  all,  I should  prefer  to  use  it  for  the  priming-coat  of  medium, 
as  Gros  did,  not  for  the  final  coat.  A final  “ burning-in  ” would 
undoubtedly  greatly  prolong  the  existence  of  out-of-door  work  in 
simple  tones  — hence  the  adoption  of  it  by  the  Greeks  for  coloring 
their  temples.  We  all  know  how  Leonardo  da  Vinci  spoiled  his 
famous  battle  of  Anghiari  in  the  Sala  del  Consiglio,  at  Florence,  bv  his 
clumsy  attempts  to  burn  it  in,  wishing  to  revive  the  ancient  encaus- 


MODERN  ENCAUSTIC. 


43 


tic  methods.  “ It  is  evident  that  he  used  wax  with  a solvent,  and 
no  doubt  a gum  to  harden  the  mixture,  for  when 
he  had  finished  the  painting  he  applied  heat  by 
lighting  fires  upon  the  floor.  Here  was  the  defec- 
tive part  of  his  plan.  . . . That  the  heat  might 
also  reach  the  upper  portions,  fuel  was  heaped 
on,  and  the  result  was  that  the  wax  melted  in  the 
lower  extremity,  making  the  colors  run,  to  the 
artist’s  deep  mortification.”  (Wilson’s  Michael 
Angelo , page  69.) 

( e ) Lamps . A few  of  these  will' 
be  found  necessary  for  dark  cor- 
ners. During  the  short  days 
late  autumn  and  winter,  the  painter  is  often  obliged  to  work  con- 
tinuously by  artificial  light.  There  is  nothing  like  the  electric-light, 
of  course,  which  might  be  introduced  for  very  elaborate  and  costly 
work,  but  the  cases  where  it  would  be  supplied  are  rare.  When  gas 
cannot  be  used,  any  kerosene  lamp  will  do,  provided  its  stand  be 
broad  and  firm.  A very  serviceable  stand  was  once  hastily  gotten  up 
for  me  — one  that  did  its  duty  well  on  a somewhat  elaborate  staging. 
a ■=  the  place  for  the  lamp. 
b = the  reflector. 
c = the  handle. 

The  whole  was  made  of  tin. 


DANGERS. 

Avoid  the  use  of  turpentine  with  white  pigments.  It  does  not 
bind  them  sufficiently.  If  mixed  with  them  freely  they  will  crack  in 
drying,  like  mud.  The  cure  for  such  cracks  is  a heavy  coat  of  the 
medium,  consequently  whites  need  more  of  it  than  the  other  colors. 
The  following  advice  to  the  mural  painter  may  seem  superfluous,  as 
being  dictated  by  common-sense  (a  rare  commodity),  and  known  to 
every  house-painter ; but  mural-painters  are  not  house-painters,  and 
have  not  had  their  practical  training  : — 

Of  all  pigments,  white  lead  is  the  arch  poisoner;  use  it  as  little  as 
possible.  The  mural-painter  deals  more  freely  with  paints  than  his 
brother  of  the  studio,  and  often  works  in  combination  with  the  house- 
painter  : hence  he  runs  greater  risks.  To  avoid  paint-poisoning  change 
the  working-suits  frequently,  and  do  not  eat  in  a room  where  there  is 
much  fresh  paint.  Milk  and  lemonade  are  antidotes  to  lead-poisoning, 
alcohol  favorable  to  it.'  Turpentine  vapors  are  injurious  to  the  lungs, 
and  often  cause  faintness.  Cure  — ventilation.  Wax  paints  adhere 


44 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


tenaciously  to  the  hands.  Soap  and  water  do  not  remove  them.  Tur- 
pentine does,  but  its  continued  use  is  injurious.  Other  solvents, 
such  as  benzine  or  chloroform,  carry  them  off ; but  for  the  dirtiest 
work,  at  least,  it  is  well  to  wear  gloves,  as  a deposit  of  paint  under 
the  nails  is  a source  of  danger.  The  body  should  be  well  protected 
against  the  damp  of  new  buildings,  churches  or  the  like,  and  against 
the  sudden  transition  from  the  heat  above  to  the  cold  below.  As 
mural  painting  is  very  fatiguing,  the  diet  and  mode  of  life  should  be 
as  simple  during  the  progress  of  the  work  as  those  of  a training 
athlete. 

Old  Cennini  counsels  but  two  meals  a day,  “ using  light  and 
good  food,  and  but  little  wine.”  Perhaps  we  need  more,  but  the 
quotation  emphasizes  the  importance  of  simple  living.  As  a rule, 
artists  are  unaccustomed  to  stagings.  When  undertaking  mural  work, 
they  run  a fair  chance  of  breaking  their  necks,  or  at  least,  of  an  ugly 
fall;  serious  injuries  have  too  frequently  been  paid  as  the  price 
of  carelessness.  Theoretically,  the  mural  painter  works  on  a com- 
fortable railed-platform, — even  on  a movable  tower,  capable  of 
being  raised  or  lowered  at  will.  Practically,  he  often  finds  himself 
on  a shaky  plank  or  two,  with  both  hands  full.  Why?  Because 
there  is  neither  time  nor  money  to  rig  up  the  proper  staging.  He 
has,  moreover,  the  almost  uncontrollable  desire,  acquired  in  the  studio, 
to  walk  away  from  his  work  into  — space.  Everything  on  the  person 
that  might  catch  on  projecting  planks,  nails,  or  the  like,  should  be 
carefully  avoided. 

ADVANTAGES  OF  WAX-PAINTING  FOR  MURAL  DECORATION. 

They  may  be  summarized  as  follows  : — 

(1)  Its  durability.  Wax  resists  moisture,  the  action  of  acids,  and 
sulphuretted-hydrogen  gas.1 

(2)  Its  dead  surface,  and  exquisite,  airy  tones.  It  has  low-toned 
capabilities,  too ; may  be  polished,  and  even  \Jiorresco  referens  /]  var- 
nished. 

(3)  Its  impasto,  equalling  that  of  oils,  without  the  disadvantages  of 
the  latter. 

(4)  Its  quick-drying  qualities,  that  enable  the  painter  to  complete 


*In  answer  to  my  inquiry,  Professor  Lewis  Iv.  Norton  kindly  writes:  “There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  wax  prevents,  to  a certain  extent,  and  to  a very  consider- 
able degree,  the  action  of  the  air,  moisture  and  gases  present  in  tho  air  on  pig- 
ments. Of  course  it  would  not  materially  hinder  strong  chemicals  from  acting 
upon  pigments.” 


MODERN  ENCAUSTIC. 


45 


the  work  in  hand  at  a sitting,  or  to  continue  it  without  fear  of 
cracks. 

OTHER  METHODS. 

There  are  other  systems  of  wax-painting,  both  cold  and  hot,  but 
the  same  principle  dominates  them  all.  The  one  that  I have  de- 
scribed has  the  immense  advantage  of  extreme  simplicity  and  direct- 
ness. The  so-called  i Spirit  Fresco  Painting,’  invented  and  used 
with  success  by  T.  Gambier  Parry,  also  by  Sir  Frederick  Leighton 
in  his  mural  work  at  South  Kensington,  is  but  another  phase  of 
wax-painting,  less  simple  than  the  above,  but  — as  is  claimed  — very 
durable.  A full  account  of  this  process  is  contained  in  a pamphlet 
prepared  by  its  inventor,  at  the  request  of  the  Committee  of  Council 
on  Education,  and  obtainable  at  the  South  Kensington  Museum.  In 
the  author’s  own  words  I will  give  a condensed  account  of  it : — 

“ The  wall  must  be  dry.  No  painting  materials  can  be  durable 
on  a damp  foundation.  The  surface  to  be  painted  must  also  be  per- 
fectly dry  and  porous.  The  best  is  good  common  stucco,  precisely 
the  same  as  that  always  used  for  buon  fresco.  The  one  primary 
necessity  is  that  it  should  be  left  with  its  natural  surface,  its  porous 
quality  being  absolutely  essential.  All  smoothing  processes,  or  ‘ float- 
ing’with  plaster-of-Paris,  destroys  this  quality.  All  cements  must 
be  avoided,  some  of  them  having  too  hard  and  smooth  a surface, 
and  consequently  being  devoid  of  all  key  or  means  of  attachment  for 
colors,  and  others  being  liable  to  efflorescence  and  chemical  action.” 
The  medium  and  preparation  of  colors  are  described  as  follows  : — 
“ Take  in  any  multiple  of  these  proportions,  according  to  the 
quantity  required  for  a week : — 


Elemi  resin  (gum  elemi)  . . . . 2 oz. 

Pure  white  wax 4 oz. 

Oil  of  spike  lavender 8 oz. 

Finest  preparation  of  artists’  copal  20  oz. 


weight. 

liquid 

measure. 


(If  a stronger  kind  of  copal  is  used,  18  ounces  are  sufficient.) 
With  these  materials,  incorporated  by  heat,  all  colors,  in  dry  pow- 
der, must  be  mixed,  and  the  most  convenient  system  is  to  do  so  pre- 
cisely as  oil-colors  are  mixed  on  a slab,  and  put  into  tubes.  The 
colors  keep  in  this  way  for  many  years.  I have  many  in  tubes 
above  twenty  years  old,  as  fresh  as  when  put  there.” 

“To  prepare  the  wall-surface,  choose  a time  of  dry  and  warm 
weather.  Dilute  the  amount  of  medium  required  in  onee-and-a-half 
its  bulk  of  good  turpentine.  The  mixture  is  more  effective  if  com- 


46 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


pounded  by  heat.  With  this  wash  let  the  surface  of  the  wall  be 
well  saturated,  the  liquid  being  dashed  against  it,  rather  than  merely 
washed  over  it.  After  a few  days  left  for  evaporation,  mix  equal 
quantities  of  pure  white  lead  (in  powder)  and  of  gilders*  whitening 
(common  whitening  being  often  full  of  large  grits  and  too  strong  of 
lime)  in  the  medium,  slightly  diluted  with  about  a third  of  turpen- 
tine, and  paint  the  surface  thickly,  and  when  sufficiently  evaporated 
to  bear  a second  coat,  add  it  as  thickly  as  a brush  can  lay  it.  This, 
when  dry  — for  which  two  or  three  weeks  may  be  required  — pro- 
duces a perfect  surface,  so  white  that  colors  upon  it  have  all  the 
internal  light  of  huon  fresco  and  the  transparency  of  pure  water- 
colors,  and  it  is  so  absorbent  that  their  attachment  is  complete. 

“ Paint  boldly  and  simply  as  in  huon  fresco ; as  much  as  possible 
alia  prima,  and  with  much  body ; and  use  pure  oil-of-spike  in  your 
dipper  freely.  Decision  is  very  necessary,  because,  by  much  harass- 
ing the  surface,  the  materials  are  liable  to  be  disintegrated,  the 
resins  rise  to  the  surface,  and  perfect  deadness  is  lost.  If  the  sur- 
face has  been  left  for  so  long  as  to  have  become  quite  hard,  wash 
over  the  part  for  the  morning’s  work  with  pure  spike-oil,  to  melt  the 
surface  (hence  the  name  Spirit  Fresco),  and  prepare  it  to  incorpo- 
rate the  colors  painted  into  it.  If  any  part  requires  second  painting 
the  next  day,  do  not  wash  again  with  spike-oil;  it  is  liable  to  bring 
the  resins  to  the  surface,  but  use  plenty  of  spike-oil  in  your 
dipper,  as  a water-color  painter  uses  water.  Paint  rather  solidly 
than  transparently.  Transparent  glazing  is  less  likely  to  dry  dead 
than  colors  used  with  white  lead.” 

“ The  Rationale  of  the  Painting  is,  therefore,  this : that  the  colors 
in  powder,  being  incorporated  with  material  identical  with  that 
which  has  already  sunk  deep  into  the  pores  of  the  wall-surface,  and 
has  hardened  there  by  the  evaporation  of  the  spirit-vehicle,  may  be 
regarded  as  belonging  to  the  mass  of  the  wall  itself,  and  not  as 
mere  superficial  applications.  This  result  is  produced  by  the  spike- 
oil  being  the  one  common  solvent  of  all  the  materials,  which  turpen- 
tine is  not;  the  moment  the  painter’s  brush  touches  the  surface 
(already  softened,  if  necessary,  for  the  day’s  work),  it  opens  to 
receive  the  colors,  and,  on  the  rapid  evaporation  of  the  spike-oil,  it 
closes  them  in,  and  thus  the  work  is  done.”1 


1 Here  is  still  another  medium  from  the  Painter ; “Copal  resin  may  he 
blended  with  twice  its  bulk  of  turpentine,  the  two  ingredients  being  kept  for 
some  time  in  a bottle  in  a warm  place,  after  which  pure  white  wax,  melted  to 
a creamy  consistence,  is  added.”  The  principle  is  always  the  same. 


MODERN  ENCAUSTIC. 


47 


One  of  the  encaustic  methods,  suggested  by  Count  Caylus  (1692- 
1 765),  is  so  simple  — though  designed  for  easel-pictures  — that  I 
cannot  but  quote  it.  With  modifications  it  might  be  used  for  larger 
works  on  the  wall. 

“First.  The  cloth  or  wood  designed  for  the  picture  is  waxed  over, 
by  rubbing  it  simply  with  a piece  of  beeswax. 

“ Secondly.  The  colors  are  mixed  up  with  pure  water,  but  as  these 
colors  will  not  adhere  to  the  wax,  the  whole  ground  must  be  rubbed 
over  with  chalk  or  whiting,  before  the  color  is  applied. 

“ Thirdly.  When  the  picture  is  dry,  it  is  put  near  the  fire,  whereby 
the  wax  is  melted  and  absorbs  the  colors.”  1 


1 Mural  or  Monumental  Decoration.  'W.  Cave  Thomas.  Winsor  & Newton, 
London. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


FRESCO. 

FRESCO  is  an  Italian  word  that  means  fresh.  Fresco  painting 
means  painting  on  fresh,  wet  plaster.  Buon  fresco  means 
real  fresco  as  distinguished  from  the  false.  All  sorts  of  mural 
paintings,  from  distemper  to  encaustic,  are  indiscriminately  and 
wrongly  called  frescos.  This  generic  use  of  the  word  is  as  unneces- 
sary as  it  is  improper,  and  tends  to  create  confusion.  When  the 
word  fresco  is  used  in  these  chapters,  it  will  be  employed  in  its  legiti- 
mate and  restricted  sense,  viz.,  to  paint  on  fresh  plaster. 

I shall  now  endeavor  to  explain  in  a few  simple  words  the  prin- 
ciple of  fresco  painting,  well  knowing  that  the  artistic  mind  recoils 
from  an  over-dose  of  the  incomprehensible  terminology  and  concise 
formulas  in  which  scientists  revel.  If  these  last  only  knew  what 
harum-scarum  brains  were  ours,  they  might  pound  some  useful  infor- 
mation into  them  by  the  assumption  of  an  extreme  simplicity.  As  it 
is,  we  frequently  run  at  the  first  discharge  of  the  chemical  battery. 

Pure  limestone  consists  of  carbonic  acid  and  lime  = carbonate  of 
lime. 

The  limestone  is  subjected  to  heat,  the  carbonic  acid  is  expelled, 
and  there  remains  lime. 

If  to  this  lime,  water  be  added,  the  result  will  be  hydrate  of  lime. 
Only  a certain  amount  of  water  combines  chemically  with  the  lime, 
hydrate  of  lime  being  a powder.  The  rest  of  the  water  mixes  with 
it  mechanically. 

When  hydrate  of  lime  is  exposed  to  the  air,  the  water  is  expelled 
by  carbonic  acid,  and  the  result  is  again  carbonate  of  lime,  or  the 
original  limestone,  chemically  speaking,  for  practically  the  cohesion 
of  limestone  is  never  regained. 

Sand  is  usually  mixed  with  the  liquid  lime  to  augment  its  cohesive- 
ness, The  latter  aots  chemically,  but  very  feebly,  on  the  former. 
The  mixture  is  chiefly  mechanical.1 


1 Unfortunately,  very  little  is  really  known  about  the  reciprocal  action  of  lime 
and  sand.  The  table  here  appended,  showing  the  effect  of  time  on  plaster,  if 


‘ Mansuetudo’  (Oil  Painting)  by  F.  Penni,  (1483  7-1528).  and  Guilio 
Romano  (1492  7-1546).  Hall  of  Constantine,  Stanze  of  Vatican. 


FRESCO. 


49 


The  pigments  are  applied  while  the  wet  plaster  is  drying  and  har- 
dening ; that  is,  while  the  carbonic  acid  is  expelling  the  water.  The 
painting  must  be  finished  before  its  expulsion  is  complete.  A thin 
crust  of  carbonate  of  lime  will  then  be  formed  over  the  painting, 
protecting  it  from  water  and  moderate  friction.  If  the  painting  be 
continued  after  the  plaster  has  lost  the  greater  part  of  its  water,  no 
crust  will  be  formed,  and  the  pigments  will  be  deprived  of  their  nat- 
ural protection.  Moreover,  when  dry,  they  will  exhibit  chalky 
spots. 

Fresco,  then,  is  durable,  not  because  the  colors  are  absorbed  by  the 
plaster,  as  many  erroneously  suppose,  but  because  they  are  protected 
by  it  chemically. 


HISTORY. 

The  birth  of  fresco  is  unrecorded.  It  is  certain  that  the  Greeks 
worked  in  it.  The  discussions  have  been  long  and  sharp  on  the 
methods  employed  by  the  Pompeians  in  their  well-known  mural 
decorations.  The  best  and  most  recent  authorities  decidedly  pro- 
nounce them  to  be  frescos.  From  personal  observation  I can  give 
no  opinion,  for  I have  no  other  ground  on  which  to  build  a theory 
than  deceitful  memory.  One  must  be  on  the  spot  to  arrive  at  a defi- 
nite conclusion.  While  there  is  no  good  reason  for  doubting  the 


correct,  is  interesting.  It  will  be  noticed  that  for  the  first  four  or  five  hundred 
years  plaster  gains  in  carbonate  of  lime,  and  that  afterwards  it  loses  in  carbon- 
ate and  gains  in  silicate.  At  the  end  of  two  thousand  years  there  is  very  little 
carbonate  left.  As  a result,  the  plaster  would  be  friable : — 

COMPOSITION  OF  FRESH  LIME  MORTAR  AND  MORTAR  HARDENED  BY  AGE. 


From  Wochenblatt  f.  Architekt.  und  Ingen.  1884;  Topfer  und  Ziegler  Zeitung, 

1884,  5,  206. 


Components. 

Fresh. 

Age  of  the  mortar  in  years. 

1 

30 

100 

200 

3'0 

600 

1330 

1800 

2000 

Carbonate  of 

calcium 

1.5 -3.2 

9-10. 

13. 

13.4 

8-13. 

14. 

13.6 

10.  0 

6-7. 

51 

Hydrate  of  cal- 

cium   

11.3-8.6 

4-5.5 

2. 

1.4 

0.4 -1.0 

0.7 

0.4 

— 

— j 

Lime  combined 

i ^ 

with  silicic 

0.15 

0.3 

0.6 -1.2 

2.0 

2.7 

9,  0 

20  m 

Soluble  silic- 

! ^ 

cltPS 

0.35 

0.5 

1-2. 

3.5 

3.3 

2.  5 

1-1.5 

Oxide  of  iron 

_ 

1 * 

and  soluble 

alumina 

0.6-  1.2 

0.90-  1.2 

1.10 

0.6 

0.4 -0.6 

0.5 

0.7  ) 

o 

Alumina 

0.1-  0.8 

0.95-  1.0 

0.55 

0.7 

0.1 -0.6 

0.7 

0.3  ] 

2.  0 

Sand,  gypsum, 

1 

magnesia, etc. 

85.5-86.2 

82-84. 

82-83 

81.8 

81.4-88. 

78.5 

79. 

75.  5 

75. 

70  j 

The  carbonate  is  formed  first,  then  the  silicate. 

More  will  be  said  on  the  combination  of  sand  with  lime,  as  compared  with  the 
mixture  of  lime  and  other  ingredients,  at  the  close  of  the  eighth  chapter,  which 
treats  of  Byzantine  fresco. 


50 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


authoritative  statements  of  those  who  declare  the  paintings  to  be 
frescos  pure  and  simple,  yet  one  cannot  blink  the  circumstances 
that  tempted  the  less  scientific  to  pronounce  them  encaustics,  or  fres- 
cos waxed  and  cauterized,  the  most  weighty  being  their  astounding 
freshness  when  first  unearthed.  Damp  is  disastrous  to  frescos,  and 
here  are  paintings  that  have  been  buried  some  eighteen  hundred 
years  in  a not  over-dry  region  almost  as  fresh  as  when  first  painted. 
MM.  Cros  and  Henry  say  that  no  traces  of  wax,  save  that  of  modern 
application,  can  be  found  on  these  pictures,  with  the  exception  of  two 
or  three  fragments  covered  with  vermilion,  a color  usually  protected 
with  cauterized  wax  and  oil,  as  Vitruvius  recommends.  The  highly 
polished  surfaces  that  I call  to  mind  must  be  the  result,  then,  of  the 
modern  and  ineffectual  attempts  to  preserve  the  paintings  with  a coat 
of  wax,  or  some  other  process  unbeknown  to  me.  But  these  things 
cannot  be  studied  from  a distance.  Vitruvius  has  a great  deal  to  say 
about  plastering,  and  very  little  about  the  process  of  fresco  painting, 
but  enough  to  convince  us  that  the  usual  process  for  mural  painting 
in  his  day  was  fresco  — even  were  certain  unmistakable  peculiarities 
of  fresco  painting  wanting  in  the  pictures  that  have  been  preserved. 
“ When,  besides  the  first  coat,  three  sand-coats  at  least  have  been 
laid,  the  coat  of  marble-dust  follows,  and  this  is  to  be  so  prepared 
that  when  used  it  does  not  stick  to  the  trowel,  but  easily  comes  away 
from  the  iron.  Whilst  the  stucco  is  drying,  another  thin  coat  is  to 
be  laid  on ; this  is  to  be  well  worked  and  rubbed,  and  then  still 
another,  finer  than  the  last.  Thus,  with  three  sand-coats  and  the 
same  number  of  marble-dust  coats  [not  counting  the  rough-cast,  which 
was  allowed  to  dry],  the  walls  will  be  rendered  solid,  and  not  liable 
to  cracks  or  other  defects.  When  the  stuff  is  well  beaten  and  the 
under  coats  made  solid,  and  afterwards  well  smoothed  by  the  hard- 
ness and  whiteness  of  the  marble-powder,  it  throws  out  the  colors 
mixed  therein  with  great  brilliancy.  Colors,  when  used  on  damp  stuc- 
co, are  very  durable.”  (Book  VII,  Chap.  III.)  When  the  Italian 
method  has  been  described,  it  will  be  seen  to  differ  from  that  of  the 
ancients  in  two  respects  : — 

(1)  Marble-dust  is  used  by  the  ancients  for  the  finishing  coats, 
where  the  Italians  as  a rule  used  sand,  though  not  infrequently 
marble-dust  was  mixed  with  the  sand  by  the  latter. 

(2)  The  ancient  plaster  is  thicker  and  more  compact,  thereby  re- 
taining its  humidity  for  a much  longer  period,  and  enabling  the 
painter  to  continue  his  work  for  several  days  before  the  formation  of 
the  crust,  after  which  all  painting  must  cease. 


FRESCO. 


51 


THE  PROCESS. 

As  these  papers  are  addressed  to  the  professional  public,  the  tech- 
nics of  fresco  will  be  summarily  described.  The  method  is  too  well 
known  to  call  for  an  elaborate  statement  which  any  hand-book  of  the 
art  will  furnish.  A sketch,  however,  of  the  process  is  necessary,  in 
order  that  architects  and  painters  may  judge  of  its  adaptability  to 
certain  sites,  and  that  comparisons  may  be  instituted  between  it  and 
other  processes,  with  a view  to  modern  mural  undertakings.  Prin- 
ciples will  be  emphasized  rather  than  details,  and  the  preliminary 
steps  rather  than  the  actual  process  of  painting,  for  the  latter  is 
largely  personal.  It  was  my  good  fortune,  a few  years  ago,  to  wit- 
ness the  execution  of  some  frescos  in  the  Campo  Santo  of  Siena  — 
that  truly  blessed  spot  with  its  monumental  view  over  broad  stretches 
of  limitless  clay-mounds,  corrugated  by  the  action  of  water,  and 
backed  by  hazy  Amiata  and  Santa  Croce,  and  more  distant  Apen- 
nines.' (No  one  of  sensibility  can  ever  recall  those  beloved,  impres- 
sive Italian  vistas  without  rhapsodizing.)  Through  the  courtesy  of 
Professor  Franchi  of  the  Sienese  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  I was 
enabled  to  try  my  hand  at  fresco,  and  to  glean  some  practical  infor- 
mation. Practice  is  so  much  more  reliable  and  convincing  than 
theory  — the  treatises  not  infrequently  being  written  by  mere  com- 
pilers — that  I shall  give  the  preference  to  my  own  notes  in  the  fol- 
lowing statements,  except,  of  course,  when  they  are  silent. 

The  Wall. — It  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  what  has  been  written  at 
some  length  in  a previous  paper  about  the  construction  of  the  walls 
and  their  protection  from  damp.  But  there  are  a few  rules  of  special 
applicability  to  fresco.  Walls  of  well-dried  and  equally  hard  brick 
are  the  best.  Rough  stone  walls  are  not  objectionable.  The  plaster 
is  liable  to  peel  from  smooth  stone.  Lathing  is  inferior  to  brick  for 
perpendicular  surfaces.  Being  exposed  to  the  air  on  both  sides,  the 
plaster  dries  too  rapidly,  one  of  the  requisites  being  that  it  should  re- 
tain its  moisture  long  enough  to  enable  the  painter  to  complete  his 
allotted  task.  A wall  of  one  or  two  bricks  in  thickness  is  preferable 
to  a very  thick  one ; for  the  latter  remaining  damp  for  a longer 
period,  is  more  liable  to  saline  efflorescence,  the  damp  carrying  the 
particles  composing  the  salt  to  the  surface.  But  whether  thick  or 
thin,  brick  or  stone,  the  wall  must  be  dry.  A double  wall  with  an 
air-space  between  is  obviously  the  best.  In  Pompeii  the  painted 
walls  were  sometimes  constructed  of  tiles  placed  edgewise  and  fast- 
ened to  the  outer  wall  by  leaden  cramps  with  a narrow  space  be- 
tween, as  a safeguard  against  damp.  If  there  is  any  old  plaster  on 


52 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


the  wall  to  be  frescoed,  it  should  be  entirely  removed,  and  the  mate- 
rial of  the  wall  laid  bare.  Lathing  was  used  both  in  ancient  and 
Renaissance  times  for  ceilings,  except  when  these  were  vaulted  with 
brick.  But  the  lathing  then  was  much  more  durable  than  now,  as  has 
already  been  explained,  and  frequently  was  plastered  above  as  well 
as  below,  thus  protecting  the  paintings  from  dirt  and  moisture,  and 
by  retaining  the  humidity  for  a longer  period  enabled  the  frescoer  to 
work  more  leisurely.  Where  the  lathing  was  inferior,  the  frescos 
have  paid  the  penalty,  as,  for  example,  those  on  the  ceiling  of  the  Log- 
gie  in  the  Vatican  painted  by  Giovanni  da  Udine.  With  all  our 
modern  appliances,  architects  could  undoubtedly  construct  a ceiling 
fulfilling  all  the  conditions  imposed  by  fresco,  without  having  re- 
course to  the  lathing  makeshift.  If  concrete  blocks  are  used,  they 
must  not  be  too  porous. 

(a)  The  Lime.  — A limestone  free  from  foreign  ingredients  yields 
the  best  lime  for  fresco.  After  the  lime  has  been  well  mixed  with 
water  till  it  has  attained  the  consistency  of  cream,  it  is  poured  into 
earthen  pits  and  kept  there  for  at  least  a year,  the  longer  the  better. 
If  too  fresh,  it  will  blister  and  flake  off.  Lime  kept  in  this  way  is 
said  to  improve  in  consistence,  and  to  grow  milder  or  less  caustic. 
It  is  hardly  possible,  however,  that  it  should  grow  less  caustic,  for  it 
is  not  exposed  to  the  air.  Though  it  is  difficult  to  say  why  it  im- 
proves by  keeping,  the  fact  that  it  does  improve  is  attested  by  long 
experience  — the  best  authority.  Time  alone  is  the  true  test,  and 
though  we  may  approximate  its  action  by  ingenious  experiments,  we 
can  never  exactly  counterfeit  it.1  A certain  amount  of  causticity  is 
indispensable ; otherwise  the  lime  would  lose  its  adhesiveness,  the 
crust  fail  to  form,  and  fresco  be  impossible.  On  the  other  hand,  ex- 
cessive causticity  is  to  be  avoided,  for  the  crust  would  form  too 
rapidly,  before  the  painter  could  complete  his  work.  Lime  remains 
caustic  till  it  has  gained  its  maximum  of  carbonic  acid,  which  it 
attracts  from  the  atmosphere  while  drying.  But  the  causticity  can- 
not be  reduced  by  exposing  it  to  the  air  for  any  length  of  time,  as  it 
would  become  too  hard  for  handling.  Yet  wet  lime  can  be  rendered 
less  caustic  in  several  ways  without  losing  its  requisite  causticity. 

1 Perhaps  the  best  reason  for  keeping  the  lime  in  pits  is  given  by  Vitruvius: 

“ Stucco  will  be  well  executed  if  lime  of  the  best  quality  be  slaked  long  before  - 
it  is  wanted;  in  order  that  if  any  portion  was  imperfectly  burned  in  the  kiln, 
the  action  of  moisture  in  long  maceration  might  slake  it,  and  reduce  it  to 
the  same  consistence  as  the  rest.  For  if  lime  be  used  too  fresh,  instead  of  being 
thoroughly  macerated,  it  will,  when  spread  (on  walls),  throw  out  blisters,  owing 
to  the  crude  particles  that  lurk  in  it.  These  particles,  not  having  been  duly 
slaked,  swell  and  destroy  the  smoothness  of  the  plaster.”  Prof.  T.  M.  Glark 
tells  me  that  his  experience  corroborates  this  view. 


FRESCO. 


53 


One  of  these  ways,  often  recommended  by  the  old  masters,  is  to  wash 
it  frequently  in  river  or  spring  water  containing  carbonic  acid. 

(6)  The  Plaster. — The  lime  is  taken  out  of  the  pit,  again  mixed 
with  water  till  it  is  about  as  thick  as  milk,  well  strained,  and  the 
superfluous  water,  which  rises  to  the  surface,  poured  off.  It  has 
then  the  consistence  of  cream  cheese,  and  is  ready  to  be  mixed  with 
the  sand.  This  must  be  river  sand  well  washed  and  passed  through 
a sieve.  No  hair  is  to  be  used.  Two  plasterings  are  necessary  for 
fresco : — 

(1)  The  arriceio , or  arricciatura , or  rough-cast. 

(2J  The  intonaco,  or  intonacatura,  or  scialbo , or  finishing  coat. 

The  proportion  of  sand  to  lime  varies  according  to  the  richness  of 
the  lime.  In  Siena  the  rule  was  one  part  sand  to  one  part  lime,  with 
rather  more  sand  for  the  arriceio.  Some  authorities  recommend  two 
parts  sand  to  one  of  lime.  A good  practical  test  for  the  arriceio  is 
to  spread  the  plaster  on  a dry,  absorbing  brick.  If  the  plaster  be 
good,  little  short  cracks  will  appear.  If  deep,  long  cracks  are  devel- 
oped, the  plaster  is  too  fat  ( grasso ) ; in  other  words,  there  is  too 
much  lime.  If  no  cracks  make  their  appearance  it  is  too  poor 
( magro ),  too  much  sand.  The  arriceio  should  be  a little  less  than 
half  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  applied  in  two  or  three  quickly  suc- 
ceeding coats.  Its  surface  should  be  roughened,  to  give  a key  to  the 
intonaco.  When  it  is  thoroughly  dry  and  hard,  it  is  ready  for  the 
intonaco , on  which  the  fresco  is  to  be  painted.  After  the  arriceio 
has  been  saturated  with  water,  the  intonaco  is  spread  in  two  thin 
coats,  the  whole  being  about  one-tenth  of  an  inch  thick.  Some 
painters  mix  marble-dust  with  the  plaster  for  the  intonaco , and  occa- 
sionally color,  to  reduce  its  whiteness  to  a middle  tint.  The  plaster 
is  spread  with  a trowel  or  wooden  float.  At  Siena  they  used  both, 
but  finished  with  the  trowel.  If  the  plaster  be  rubbed  too  hard, 
black  spots  injurious  to  the  painting  will  appear.  The  surface 
should  be  so  hard  “ as  with  difficulty  to  receive  the  impression  of  the 
finger.”  If  texture  be  desired,  it  should  be  rubbed  with  a cloth? 
brush  or  the  like.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  plaster  becomes 
too  dry  while  polishing  it  with  the  trowel.  In  that  case  wet  both 
plaster  and  trowel. 

(c)  The  Cartoon  and  Outline.  — All  that  has  been  said  regarding 
the  importance  of  a well-prepared  cartoon  for  wax-painting  is  equally 
applicable  to  fresco.  When  the  picture  is  so  small  that  it  can  be 
painted  in  a single  day,  it  may  be  transferred  directly  from  the  car- 
toon to  the  intonaco , or  finishing  coat.  If  the  picture  be  large,  it  is 


54 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


better  to  transfer  the  whole  cartoon  by  pouncing  to  the  arriccio,  before 
any  of  the  intonaco  is  laid.  Sometimes  it  is  difficult  to  handle  a large 
cartoon  in  awkward  places ; then  the  picture  may  be  drawn  on  the 
arriccio  with  charcoal,  being  enlarged  by  the  squaring  process  from 
the  sketch,  just  as  the  cartoon  would  be.  It  is  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  transfer  the  whole  picture  to  the  arriccio,  for  one  can  work 
piecemeal  on  the  intonaco ; but  it  is  obviously  a safer  method.  The 
stereopticon  might  be  used  for  the  transfer  of  the  sketch  to  the  arric- 
cio, were  the  conditions  favorable  to  its  use,  but  not  for  the  subse- 
quent outlining  on  the  intonaco.  The  portion  to  be  painted  in  one 
day  having  been  indicated  by  the  painter,  the  mason  prepares  it  with 
the  intonaco,  as  previously  described.  The  corresponding  portion  of 
the  cartoon  is  cut  off  (or  a tracing  is  made  of  it,  if  it  be  desirable  to 
keep  the  cartoon),  and  transferred  to  the  wet  intonaco,  either  by 
pouncing  or  by  passing  over  the  outlines  with  a style  which  leaves  a 
corresponding  depression  in  the  plaster.  For  delicate  works  pounc- 
ing is  preferable.  Wilson,  who  closely  inspected  the  frescos  of  the 
Sistine  vault  on  a movable  scaffold,  says  that  Michael  Angelo  used 
the  pounce-bag,  but  frequently  accentuated  the  less  delicate  lines  with 
some  sharp  instrument,  after  the  cartoon  had  been  removed. 

(cl)  Brushes. — These  should  be  of  bristle,  rather  long  and  supple. 
If  short  and  unyielding,  they  rub  up  the  plaster.  Those  used  at 
Siena  were  round,  and  very  ordinary  compared  with  the  best  French 
or  English  brushes.  Marten  or  sable  brushes  were  avoided  chiefly 
on  the  ground  of  expense,  though  the  work  was  beautifully  finished. 
Marten’s  hair  or  otter’s  is  said  to  resist  the  action  of  lime  better  than 
sable’s. 

(e)  Palette. — This  should  be  of  tin,  with  a rim  round  it,  to  prevent 
the  colors  from  running  off,  and  a cup  in  the  middle  for  pure  water 
which  is  the  medium  for  fresco.  At  Sienna  the  palette  was  a 
large  wooden  slab,  so  propped  as  to  be  stable  and  handy. 

(f)  Colors. — Those  that  are  fit  for  fresco  have  been  fully  cata- 
logued at  various  times  and  by  various  authors.  The  different 
nomenclatures  are  somewhat  confusing.  As  a general  rule  it  may  be 
said  that  all  the  earth  and  a few  mineral  colors  can  be  used,  but 
neither  animal  nor  vegetable  colors.  Here  is  a simple  palette  : — 

Lime  white  (bianco  Sangiovanni.) 

Yellow  ochre,  Naples  yellow. 

Earth  reds : Venetian  red,  light  red,  burnt  Sienna  and  the  like, 

Terre  verte,  chrome  green. 

Raw  and  burnt  umber. 


FRESCO. 


55 


Earth  black  is  the  best.  Ivory  black  is  too  oily  for  fresco. 

Cobalt  blue,  indigo,  and  pure  or  imitated  ultramarine. 

Burnt  vitriol  (purple).2 3 

Vermilion  may  be  rendered  fit  for  fresco  by  placing  it  in  a glazed 
earthenware  vase  and  pouring  lime-water  on  it.  Afterwards  the 
water  should  be  poured  off,  and  the  operation  repeated  several  times. 

The  white  may  be  prepared  in  many  ways.  Cennini’s  method  is 
elaborate  but  reliable.  “ Take  very  white  slacked  lime  [from  the 
pit]  and  put  it  into  a little  tub  for  the  space  of  eight  days,  changing 
the  water  every  day,  and  mixing  the  lime  and  water  well  together,  in 
order  to  extract  from  it  all  unctuous  properties.  Then  make  it  into 
small  cakes,  put  them  upon  the  roof  of  the  house  in  the  sun,  and  the 
older  the  cakes  are,  the  whiter  they  become.  If  you  wish  to  hasten 
the  process  and  have  the  white  very  good,  when  the  cakes  are  dry, 
grind  them  on  your  slab  with  water,  and  then  make  them  again  into 
cakes  and  dry  them  as  before.  Do  this  twice,  and  you  will  see  how 
perfectly  white  they  will  become.  This  white  must  be  ground  thor- 
oughly with  water.”  Pozzo  curtails  this  process  considerably.  The 
idea  is  to  get  rid  of  the  caustic  qualities  of  the  lime ; for  this  being 
a pigment  with  which  all  the  others  are  more  or  less  mixed,  it  would 
increase  the  already  sufficient  causticity  of  the  intonaco. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  palette  for  fresco  is  a quiet  one,  which, 
in  a measure,  accounts  for  its  harmonious  tones.  The  colors,  when 
dry,  appear  lighter  and  warmer  than  when  first  applied  to  the  cool, 
gray  plaster,  that  ultimately  dries  white.  To  judge  of  their  final 
effect  the  painter  tries  the  colors  on  a piece  of  dry  umber,  which 
immediately  absorbs  their  moisture.8  It  is  well  to  prepare  the  whole 
of  a needed  tone  at  once.  It  is  difficult  to  match  tones  in  fresco. 
Warm-  colors  are  said  to  be  more  durable  than  cool,  which  is  almost 
tantamount  to  saying  that  the  earth  colors  are  the  safest. 

(<7)  Painting.  — It  would  be  as  vain  and  misleading  to  give  a 
receipt  for  fresco  as  for  oil  or  water-color  painting.  For  amateurs 
such  receipts  are  not  without  value.  Every  professional  painter  has 
his  idiosyncracies  and  a handling  that  harmonizes  with  them.  There 
are  before  me  five  receipts  for  painting  a head  in  fresco,  differing 
widely  in  details,  but  corresponding  in  essentials  — which  are  worth 
signalizing.  Fresco  has  not  the  depth  of  varnished  oils,  but  a blonde, 
dead  quality,  that  is  the  desideratum  in  mural  painting.  It  is  a cross 

2 Some  authors  recommend  the  addition  of  size  to  colors  that  do  not  mix  freely 
with  water. 

3 Dry,  white  absorbent  wood  is  also  recommended. 


56 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


between  distemper  and  water-color — semi-transparent  and  semi-opaque 
— not  so  clear  as  water-color,  nor  so  heavy  and  lifeless  as  distemper. 
Consequently,  the  execution  savors  of  both  media — here  a wash  and 
there  impasto.  There  are  two  schools  of  fresco;  the  one  character- 
ized by  its  comparatively  thin,  transparent  qualities,  and  the  moderate 
use  of  impasto,  the  other  by  a more  generous  use  of  it.  To  the  for- 
mer school  belong  all  the  earlier  painters,  from  Cimabue  (1242-1302) 
to  Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo  inclusive.  Theirs  are  the  methods 
recommended  by  Cennino  Cennini.  The  other  school  came  later, 
and  is  championed  by  Adrea  Pozzo,  Jesuit  father,  painter,  archi- 
tect, and  author  (1642-1709.)  The  modern  Siennese  still  prefer 
the  delicate,  refined  manner  of  Cennino,  while  many  others  adopt  the 
vigorous  handling  of  Pozzo.  The  latter  is  more  in  harmony  with 
our  modern  oil  methods. 

The  following  notes,  many  of  which  were  jotted  down  on  the  stag 
ing,  may  be  of  service.  (1)  To  avoid  injury  (from  plastering)  on  the 
parts  already  painted,  begin  at  the  top  of  the  picture  and  paint 
downwards.  (2)  Keep  at  hand  a plentiful  supply  of  pure  water. 

(3)  Draw  in  the  subject  with  a dark  tone  and  indicate  the  shadows. 

(4)  Begin  with  light,  transparent  washes,  applied  with  a broad  brush, 
and  finish  with  impasto.  (5)  Better  warm  washes  over  cool,  and 
strong  over  weak.  (6)  The  first  washes  appear  very  faint,  but  the 
painting  acquires  strength  and  consistence  as  it  advances.  Just 
before  completion  the  water  is  rapidly  absorbed  from  the  brush  as 
soon  as  it  touches  the  wall,  which  means  that  the  work  must  cease. 
Were  it  continued  no  crust  would  be  formed,  and  chalky  spots  would 
make  their  appearance  on  the  painting  when  dry.1  (7)  The  setting 
of  the  plaster  may  be  retarded  in  hot  weather  by  sprinkling  it  with 
water.  If  there  be  danger  of  freezing,  wait  till  milder  weather. 
(8)  Colors  may  be  partially  removed  by  washing,  but  it  is  better  to 
avoid  the  necessity.  (9)  Those  who  so  wish,  may  apply  a final 
glaze  over  the  damp  colors,  but  it  must  be  done  rapidly  and  lightly. 
(10)  During  the  work  it  may  be  necessary  to  pause  at  intervals  to 
allow  the  moisture  to  be  absorbed.  (11)  When  the  day’s  task  is 
completed  the  masons  cut  away  the  unpainted  plaster  with  a sharp 

iThe  Munich  artists  invented  a contrivance  for  retarding  the  drying  of  the 
work,  which  enabled  them  to  leave  it  for  several  hours  and  then  take  it  up  again. 
“ They  have  a board  of  sufficient  surface  to  cover  that  part  of  their  work,  and 
this  is  padded  on  one  side,  this  cushion  being  then  covered  with  waxed  cloth  ; 
a wet  piece  of  fine  linen  is  then  spread  over  the  fresh  plaster  and  painting,  and 
then  pressed  to  the  surface  of  the  wall  by  the  cushioned  side  of  the  boar  1, 
while  tbe  outer  side  is  buttressed  firmly  by  a pole  from  the  ground.” — W.  B. 
aarsfield  Taylor.  (Reference  is  made  to  Cornelius,  Ivaulbach  and  others.) 


FRESCO. 


57 


instrument  and  bevels  the  edge.  It  is  needless  to  observe  that  the 
mason  must  be  an  adept.  When  painting  a figure,  it  is  well  to  paint 
a portion  of  the  background  at  the  same  time,  to  avoid  hardness  of 
contour  and  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  outline.  On  the  following 
day  the  mason  joins  the  fresh  intonaco  to  that  of  the  preceding  day, 
and  so  on  till  the  picture  is  completed.  Heads  should  be  finished  at 
a sitting,  and  nude  figures  joined  at  a convenient  line  suggested  by 
the  anatomy.  Wilson  says  that  Michael  Angelo  painted  his  figures 


58 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


on  the  Sistine  Vault  in  about  three  days  each,1  and  indicates  with  a 
dotted  line  on  tracings  from  two  of  them,  the  successive  divisions. 
One  of  these  figures  is  the  Adam  — about  ten  feet  in  height.  I give 
here  a similar  tracing  from  Braun’s  photograph  of  one  of  the  young 
men  on  the  cornice.  The  dotted  lines  are  suppositious  in  one  or  two 
places,  but  elsewhere  the  photograph  indicates  the  divisions  very 
clearly,  notably  about  the  head.  (12)  All  retouches  must  be  made 
with  color,  tempered  with  size,  that  is,  “ a secco  ” (dry),  or  when 
the  plaster  is  no  longer  wet.  A good  size  may  be  made  of  two  parts 
water  to  one  part  yolk-of-egg,  mixed  with  a little  vinegar  to  pre- 
serve it.  This  size  is  too  yellow  for  the  blues.  Caseine  mixed  with 
water  and  quicklime  is  said  to  be  an  insoluble  size.  Parchment  or 
fish  glue  is  also  used.  “ Secco  ” is  perishable,  and  the  less  of  it  the 
better.  Notwithstanding  the  example  of  some  of  the  best  frescoers,  it 
is  almost  universally  condemned,  except  for  slight  retouches.2  When 
a considerable  part  of  the  work  is  unsatisfactory  it  must  be  destroyed 
and  repainted. 

Andrea  Pozzo,  the  representative  of  the  impasto  school  recom- 
mends a rough  ground.  But  if  the  painting,  he  observes,  be  near  the 
eye  and  should  appear  too  rough,  a sheet  of  paper  must  be  placed 
over  it,  and  the  protuberances  gently  rubbed  down  with  a trowel. 
Here  is  a quotation  from  him  that  reminds  one  strongly  of  modern 
ways  : “ For  uniting  tones,  soft  brushes  must  be  used,  though  of  hog’s 
bristles,  and  not  very  moist ; and  occasionally,  too,  the  Jingers  give 
good  effects  in  the  heads,  hands,  and  other  small  things,  particularly 
when  the  lime  begins  to  set.” 


1 Later,  in  the  Last  Judgment,  he  painted  more  rapidly,  generally  finishing  a 
colossal  figure  in  two  days,  “ though,”  says  Wilson,  “ he  could  execute  an  entire 
figure  in  one  day.” 

2“  He  who  can  finish  'a  buon  fresco'  will  always  he  the  best  painter,  and  his 
work  far  more  lasting;  but  seeing  that  lime  always  undergoes  some  change, 
especially  in  the  shadows,  one  can,  and  ought,  to  retouch  either  with  delicate 
strokes  of  pastel  prepared  from  egg-shell,  or  with  brushes  half  dry  and  charged 
with  the  requisite  color.  If  such  retouches  are  made  in  uncovered  places,  they 
are  made  in  vain,  for  the  first  rain  will  carry  them  off.”  (Andrea  Pozzo,  Prospet- 
tiva  de’  Pittori,  etc.  P.I1.  S.  XI.  Roma,  1758. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


BYZANTIUM  AND  MT.  ATHOS. 

WHEN  Christianity  crawled  out  of 
the  catacombs  she  was  indigent 
and  ill-clad.  Raised  suddenly 
from  the  dust  — rather  from  the  bow- 
els of  the  earth  — by  the  imperial  fiat 
she  must  needs  be  clad  with  official 
splendor.  Rich  basilicas  supplant  the 
gloomy  crypts,  and  lustrous,  majestic 
mosaics  the  rude  and  hieroglyphic 
paintings  of  the  catacombs.  Previously 
mosaics  had  been  used  with  profusion 
chiefly  for  pavements,  but  now  they  glisten  on  either  Tvall  of  the  tem- 
ple, that  they  who  know  not  their  letters  may  thus  learn  “ the  noble 
actions  of  those  who  have  served  God  faithfully.”  Byzantium  is  the 
capital  of  the  Empire.  If  she  is  not  always  beautiful  she  is  at  least 
resplendent.  An  Eastern  love  of  sumptuousness  is  ousting  the  sculp- 
turesque feeling  for  form.  Mosaicists  are  exempted  from  taxation  to 
give  a fillip  to  their  art.  When  mosaics  are  too  costly,  paintings  are 
substituted. 

So  it  came  to  pass  that  painting  posed  in  the  garb  of  mosaic,  and 
not  the  reverse,  as  in  the  days  of  Titian,  and  later  still,  in  those  of 
Cavaliere  Arpino  (1560-1640).  There  is  something  awfully  grand  in 
those  simple  creations  of  solemn,  impassive  aspect,  and  colossal  size, 
towering  o’er  mortals  below — actually  and  ethically.  This  was  a great 
age  for  mural  decoration,  which,  with  varying  excellence,  has  lived 
uninterruptedly  to  the  present  day.  The  compositions  were  more 
symmetrical  then  than  in  the  days  of  the  Italian  Renaissance,  more 
stately,  and,  if  I may  be  allowed  the  term,  more  processional.  They 
were  deficient  in  varied  action,  and  dramatic  force  and  life ; but 
they  gained  thereby  in  grandeur  and  dignity.  Religious  impressive- 
ness was  the  desideratum ; whereas  the  Italian  artists  of  the  sixteenth 


60 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


century  strove  far  less  impersonally  for  pure  beauty,  under  tlie 
pretext  of  religion,  though  the  patronage  of  the  church  gave  them 
a tremendous  impulse  and  that  opportunity  for  expression  with- 
out which  art  cannot  exist.  Gross  ignorance  often  characterized 
the  anatomy  of  the  Byzantine  figures — for  Christianity  was  clothed 
— but  “ the  draperies  still  showed  traces  of  the  grand  style,”  and 
the  heads  were  life-like  and  expressive.  These  were  evil  days  for 
monumental  sculpture.  For  a long  time  the  traditions  of  the  art 
survived,  and  the  old  influence  was  felt,  but  it  was  never  in  odor 
of  sanctity  with  the  church.  The  goldsmith  was  the  sculptor’s  legit- 
imate successor.  The  iconoclasts  of  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries 
gave  the  coup  de  grace  to  sculpture.  Religious  figure-painting  was 
not  exempted,  but  it  was  treated  more  leniently.  It  took  refuge  in 
foreign  lands  and  in  the  monasteries  where  zealous  monks  could  paint 
and  illuminate  without  fear  of  detection,  or  in  spite  of  it.  But  the 
iconoclasts  though  fanatics,  were  not  barbarians.  On  the  contrary,  they 
encouraged  the  arts  in  their  civic  character.  Magnificent  buildings 
were  constructed  and  adorned  with  splendid  mosaic  figure-composi- 
tions. Painting  gained  rather  than  lost,  for  it  became  less  hieratic. 
Byzantium  was  at  the  zenith  of  her  power  under  the  Macedonian 
dynasty  (867-1057),  and  the  arts  flourished  with  the  exception  of 
sculpture,  which  was  never  rehabilitated  by  the  triumphant  antago- 
nists of  iconoelasm.  Bas-reliefs  were  tolerated  as  less  real  than 
statues  and  more  akin  to  painting.  Byzantine  stuffs,  ivories,  bronzes 
and  objets  d’art  were  pre-eminent.  Then  came  the  ghastly  sack  of 
the  town  by  the  Crusaders  (1204),  in  comparison  to  which  the  pillage 
by  the  Turks  (1453)  was  as  sounding  brass.  The  wholesale  looting 
and  burning  of  all  that  was  choicest  and  best  in  both  literature  and 
art  by  those  vandal  enthusiasts,  left  but  little  of  value  for  the  much 
abused  victorious  Moslems.  Priceless  treasures  perished  in  the 
sickening  devastation.  Contemporary  descriptions  of  the  city  on 
the  eve  of  its  calamities  read  like  tales  of  fairyland.  Even  when 
its  glory  had  departed,  some  two  hundred  years  later,  it  contained 
not  less  than  3,000  churches.  In  1261  the  Greeks  again  wrested  the 
remnants  of  the  city  from  the  Latins,  and  there  appeared  the  adum- 
bration of  a Renaissance.  But  the  palmy  days  of  the  Eastern 
Empire  were  past,  and  mural  decoration,  notwithstanding  certain 
restorative  efforts  that  bore  some  fruit,  was  on  the  decline  when 
Mahomet  II  obliterated  it  with  whitewash.  Mosaics  were  then  giving 
place  to  less  costly  paintings.  Just  what  this  painting  was  in  its 
best  days  we  do  not  know.  We  must  judge  it  inferentially  from  the 


BYZANTIUM  AND  MT.  ATHOS. 


61 


mosaics  and  miniatures  that  war  and  fanaticism  have  spared.  At 
this  time  the  types  were  already  fixed  and  it  was  relegated  to  the 
monasteries. 

Of  all  the  monasteries  those  of  Mt.  Athos  were,  and  still  are, 
deservedly  the  most  celebrated.  The  Holy  Mountain,  as  it  is  called 
by  the  Orthodox  Greeks,  rises  from  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
most  easterly  of  the  three  Macedonian  peninsulas.  Its  monasteries 
have  long  maintained  a semi-independence,  even  under  Turkish  rule. 
They  form  a monastic  republic.  Their  early  history  is  at  times  ob- 


A Monastery  on  Mt.  Athos,  after  a Byzantine  Engraving. 


scure;  but  however  miraculous  may  have  been  their  origin,  they 
attained  no  importance  till  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries.  The 
republic  was  organized  by  zealots  of  high  birth.  Slaves,  Bulgarians, 
Armenians,  in  fact  all  nationalities  of  the  Greek  faith,  hastened  to 
found  convents  on  the  Mount.  The  emperors  multiplied  the  privileges 
of  the  Athonites,  and  freed  them  from  the  patriarch’s  authority. 
During  the  short-lived  Latin  Supremacy  (1204-1261),  they  were 
sorely  vexed  ; but  they  were  amply  indemnified  on  the  return  of  the 
Greeks  to  Byzantium.  Even  Mahomet  II  granted  them  the  main- 
tenance of  their  privileges.  “ Thus  by  a remarkable  combination  of 
circumstances,  everything  seems  to  have  conspired  to  preserve  this 
monastic  state  from  those  depredations  that  in  so  many  other  places 
have  overthrown  from  roof  to  foundation  the  Greek  churches  and 
convents.”  5 


1 “ L'art  Byzantin  ” par  Ch.  Bayet.  A.  Quantin,  Paris. 


<12 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


Though  there  are  still  some  interesting  mosaic  fragments  of  the 
twelfth  or  thirteenth  century,  the  paintings  in  these  monasteries,  both 
by  their  number  and  importance,  first  claim  the  attention.  Unfor- 
tunately the  Athonite  painters  have  shown  but  little  veneration  for 


Fig.  I.  Mural  Painting  from  Mt.  Athos. 


the  works  of  their  predecessors.  They  have  kept  their  paintings  in 
a chronic  state  of  restoration,  or  have  entirely  repainted  them. 
Many  of  the  convents  have  their  own  painters  who  require  but  little 
time  and  money  for  their  labor ; so  that  it  is  difficult  to  find  frescos 
antedating  the  sixteenth  century.  But  inasmuch  as  the  personal  in- 
spiration allowed  the  painter  is  comparatively  slight,  and  seeing  that 


BYZANTIUM  AND  MT.  ATMOS. 


63 


the  types,  eolor,  and  composition  were  fixed  by  almost  immutable 
laws  at  a veiy  early  date,  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  the  paintings  of 
to-day,  though  doubtless  inferior  in  execution,  very  strongly  resemble 
those  of  the  best  epoch. 

An  interesting  and  important  discovery  was  made  by  Didron  on 
Mt.  Athos  in  1839,  bearing  directly  on  the  Byzantine  technique  and 
iconography.  As  this  chapter  is  but  little  else  than  a compilation  — 
though  not  devoid  of  interest,  I trust,  owing  to  popular  unfamilarity 
with  Byzantine  mural  painting — I shall  freely  utilize  Didron’s  inves- 
tigations, sometimes  translating  them  literally,  sometimes  paraphras- 
ing them.1  After  visiting  many  churches  in  Greece,  he  was  greatly 
impressed  by  the  large  number  of  figures,  colossal  and  diminutive, 
that  swarmed  on  every  available  wall-space — narthex,  nave,  apsis, 
dome,  arcliivolts — everywhere,  in  fact;  and  also  by  the  concor- 
dance of  the  same  figures  in  different  churches.  In  that  of  Sal- 
amis  (not  large,  I should  infer,  though  he  makes  no  direct  state- 
ment as  to  its  size)  he  counted  over  3,000  figures,  all  executed  by 
one  master-painter,  aided  by  his  three  pupils,  according  to  an  inscrip- 
tion borne  by  an  angel : 

“ 1735.  This  holy  and  venerable  temple  has  been  painted  by  the  hand 
of  Georgios  Marcos,  from  the  town  of  Argos , with  the  assistance  of  his 
pupils,  Nicolaos  Benigelos,  Georg  aids,  and  Antonis .” 

“If  in  France  to-day,”  writes  Didron,  “ where  our  painters  are 
well  enough  informed,  a single  artist  should  be  commissioned  to 
represent  in  some  monumental  edifice  — in  the  Cathedral  of  Paris,  I 
will  suppose  — the  universal  history  of  a religion  as  illustrated  by  its 
heroes,  and  the  events  of  that  history,  it  is  doubtful  if  he  could  exe- 
cute so  vast  a composition  without  long  and  profound  research.  I 
will  go  further  and  say  that  we  have  not  a single  painter  capable  of 
bringing  such  a work  to  a successful  termination.  There  is  not  one 
of  them  learned  or  strong  enough  to  carry  such  a burden.  But  at 
Salamis  the  painter  has  not  only  represented  scenes  and  characters, 
but  he  has  particularized  them  by  means  of  explanatory  inscriptions 
and  quotations,  and  these  quotations  are  drawn  from  the  Bible,  and 
from  a vast  number  of  religious  works.  . . . The  difficulty  is  thereby 
greatly  increased,  and  surely  no  French  artist  could  be  found  with 
the  knowledge  that  such  an  enterprise  exacts.  What  a man  this 
painter  of  Salamis  must  have  been  to  accomplish  such  a task. 
Neither  my  companions  nor  myself  could  cease  to  marvel.  I ques- 
tioned the  monks  of  the  convent,  especially  the  most  learned,  but 


1 “Manuel  cV Iconographie  Chr&tienne  ” par  M.  Didron,  Paris,  1845. 


64 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


could  get  nothing  out  of  them.  . . . Yet  I was  at  Salamis,  in  the 
very  church  where  he  must  have  passed  his  life,  and  I was  address- 
ing monks  whose  immediate  predecessors  must  have  been  contempo- 
raries of  the  painter.” 


Didron  had  not  yet  seen  Mt.  Athos,  the  great  formative  school  of 
Byzantine  painters,  the  Italy  of  the  Eastern  church.  There  were 
in  it  in  his  days  nine  hundred  and  thirty-five  churches,  chapels  and 
oratories,  almost  entirely  covered  with  frescos,  and  filled  with  pictures 
on  wood  ; not  to  mention  the  paintings  on  the  refectory  walls  and 
elsewhere.  Arriving  at  the  Mount,  it  so  happened  that  the  first 
church  he  entered  was  new,  and  from  which  the  staging  had  not  yet 


'Jupiter  and  Juno  ’ (Fresco)  by  Annibale  Carracci,  ( I 560- 1 609),  Far- 
nese  Palace,  Rome. 


BYZANTIUM  AND  MT.  ATHOS. 


65 


been  removed.  “ A painter  from  Kares  (the  capital  of  Athos),  assisted 
by  bis  brother,  by  two  pupils,  and  two  young  apprentices,  were  fres- 
coing the  whole  of  the  interior  porch  that  precedes  the  nave.  The 
first  of  the  pupils  — the  eldest  and  a deacon  — was  destined  to  take 
charge  of  the  atelier  at  the  master’s  death.  I rejoiced  greatly  at  the 
happy  chance  that  would  probably  reveal  to  me  the  secrets  of  these 
paintings  and  painters,  and  which  would  doubtless  answer  the  ques- 
tions that  I had  vainly  asked  at  Salamis  and  Athens.  I mounted 
the  staging  and  saw  the  master  painter,  surrounded  by  his  pupils, 
decorating  the  narthex  of  the  church  with  frescos.  The  young 
brother  spread  the  mortar  on  the  wall;  the  master  sketched  the 
picture;  the  first  pupil  filled  in  the  outlines  drawn  by  his  chief,  on 
those  parts  of  the  picture  which  the  latter  had  not  time  to  finish  ; a 
young  pupil  gilded  the  nimbi , painted  the  inscriptions  and  ornaments, 
while  two  others,  younger  still,  ground  and  diluted  the  colors.  In 
the  mean  time  the  master-painter  ‘drew  in’  his  picture,  either  from 
memory  or  from  inspiration.  In  an  hour,  under  our  very  eyes,  he 
traced  on  the  wall  a picture  representing  Jesus  Christ  charging  his 
apostles  to  evangelize  and  baptize  the  world.  The  Christ,  and  the 
eleven  other  personages,  were  about  the  size  of  life.  He  drew  them 
from  memory  without  cartoon,  sketch  or  model.  On  examining  the 
other  pictures  that  he  had  finished  I asked  him  if  he  had  executed 
them  in  the  same  way;  he  answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  added 
that  ‘ he  very  rarely  effaced  a line.’  ” 

“We  were  dumbfounded,  for  these  paintings  were  incontestably  su- 
perior to  those  of  our  second-rate  artists  who  paint  religious  pictures. 
By  some  persons  — and  I am  of  the  number  — the  painter  of  Mt. 
A.thos  would  be  classified  with  the  best  living  artists,  especially  if 
executing  religious  paintings.” 

Of  course,  due  allowance  must  be  made  for  Didron’s  very  natural 
enthusiasm  which  has  its  licenses  as  well  as  poetry,  so  that  we  can 
graciously  pardon  any  exaggeration.  M.  Bayet,  in  his  recent  hand- 
book of  Byzantine  art  says  of  these  Athonite  paintings,  that  “ One 
must  not  expect  as  a rule  to  find  in  them  either  careful  drawing  or  a 
scholarly  study  of  color,  but  merely  the  traditions  of  a great  decora- 
tive school.”  He  bears  testimony,  however,  to  their  impressiveness. 

Having  passed  a month  in  making  the  tour  of  the  Mount,  Didron 
again  returned  to  his  decorator,  whose  work  in  the  mean  time  had 
advanced  apace.  He  had  many  questions  to  propound  concerning 
certain  artists,  living  and  dead,  whose  names  he  had  read  on  their 
signed  works.  With  but  one  exception,  Father  Joasaph  — for  such 


66 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


was  the  painter’s  name  — had  never  heard  of  them,  and  that  excep- 
tion was  the  celebrated  Panselinos,  the  patriarch  of  the  school. 
During  their  conversation  Joasaph  worked  continuously,  “ and  I,” 
says  Didron,  l*  continued  ecstatic  before  his  prodigious  facility  and 


astonishing  memory.”  “ But,  sir,”  he  said  to  me  at  length,  “ all  this 
is  very  much  less  extraordinary  than  you  suppose,  and  I marvel  at 
your  surprise  that  increases  rather  than  diminishes.  Look,  here  is 
a manuscript  that  teaches  everything  we  have  to  do.  In  this  place 
it  tells  us  how  to  prepare  our  plaster,  our  brushes,  our  colors,  how  to 
compose  and  where  to  place  our  pictures  ; in  that  place  are  written 


BYZANTIUM  AND  MT.  ATIIOS. 


67 


the  words  and  inscriptions  we  have  to  paint,  and  which  you  have  just 
now  heard  me  dictate  to  these  young  people,  my  pupils.” 

“I  seized,”  continues  Didron,  “with  eagerness,  with  avidity,  the 
manuscript  that  Joasaph  showed  me,  and  I read  in  the  table  of  con- 
tents that  the  work  was  divided  into  four  parts.  The  first  part,  en- 
tirely technical,  was  devoted  to  an  exposition  of  the  methods  of 
painting  employed  by  the  Greeks,  their  manner  of  preparing  brushes 
and  colors,  of  laying  the  grounds  for  frescos  and  pictures,  and  of 
painting  on  these  grounds.  In  the  second  part  were  described  in  de- 
tail, and  with  remarkable  precision,  those  symbolical,  and  especially 
historical  subjects  that  painting  may  represent.  The  third  part  de- 
termined the  place  in  a church,  porch,  refectory,  or  fountain,  where 
such  and  such  a subject,  or  figure,  should  be  placed,  in  preference  to 
any  other.  Finally,  in  an  appendix,  the  types  of  Christ  and 
the  Virgin  are  fixed,  and  some  of  the  inscriptions  given  that  abound 
in  Byzantine  paintings.  This  manuscript  was  entitled  : 'E pgrjveia  Trjg 
faypatyiKiis,  Manual  of  Painting” 

“ Then  the  immutability  and  identity  of  the  types  figured  in  every 
part  of  Greece,  and  from  Syra  to  . . . Constantinople,  were 
explained.  The  form  of  the  hair  and  beard,  the  age,  physiognomy, 
costume  and  attitude  are  recorded  in  this  book.  Thus,  with  a fair 
memory  and  average  intelligence,  assisted,  on  the  one  hand,  by  this- 
codex , and  on  the  other  by  the  continual  view  or  study  of  the  old 
paintings,  and  especially  by  the  constant  practice  of  art,  almost  any 
painter  could  easily  be  a Joasaph.  Seeing  him  execute  such  works, 
I had,  in  fact,  a certain  admiration  for  the  man,  who  had  nothing  to 
recommend  him  in  expression,  word,  or  bearing,  and  who  was  com- 
monplace, rather  than  distinguished.  So  the  fine  series  of  paintings 
at  Salainis  was  accounted  for,  and  the  complete  oblivion  of  Georgios 
Marcos.  What  was  then  happening  at  Mt.  Athos  must  have  hap- 
pened in  France  and  all  Christian  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages. 
The  composition  and  distribution  of  the  sculptures  that  decorate 
the  portals  of  Amiens,  Reims,  and  especially  Chartres  cathedrals, 
would  bear  witness  to  a great  genius,  if  any  Picard,  Champenois,  or 
Beauceron  artist  had  invented  them ; but  they  only  call  for  an  ordi- 
nary man,  aided  by  a manuscript  similar  to  that  of  Mt.  Athos.  It 
is  just  the  same  for  glass-painting.” 

The  particular  copy  of  the  codex  that  Didron  saw  was  not  more 
than  300  years  old,  and  had  been  freely  annotated  both  by  Joasaph 
and  his  master  — annotations  that  would  be  incorporated  with  the 
text  when  re-copied.  Thus  the  later  codices  are  somewhat  more; 


68 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


voluminous  than  their  prototype.  The  “ Manual  of  Painting  ” was 
composed  by  a painter  who  signed  himself  Denys,  monk  of  Fourna 
d’Agrapha.  He  “flourished”  probably  about  the  middle  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  was,  therefore,  a contemporary  of  the  oft- 


quoted  Cennino  Cennini.  Strange  that  these  two  painters,  of  no  great 
artistic  fame,  mutually  alien  in  school  as  well  as  country,  yet  so  like 
in  their  innocent  faith  and  veneration,  should  each  have  composed  a 
manual  of  his  art,  and  that  both  should  have  been  published  for 
the  first  time  in  the  present  century,  and  within  less  than  thirty 
years  of  each  other  (Cennino’s  in  1821 ; Denys’s  in  1845).  Denys 


BYZANTIUM  AND  MT.  ATHOS. 


69 


belonged  to  the  famous  school  of  Saloniki,  whose  recognized  chief 
was  Panselinos,  the  Giotto  — or,  as  some  style  him,  the  Raphael — ■ 
of  the  Byzantine  school.  Though  not  the  immediate  master  of 
Denys,  the  latter  stood  in  the  same  attitude  of  veneration  towards 
him,  as  the  protagonist  of  his  school,  that  Cennini  did  towards 
Giotto,  though  both  were  dead.  Cennini  writes : “ This  plan  was 
adopted  by  Giotto,  the  great  master,  who  had  Taddeo  Gaddi,  his 
godson,  for  his  disciple  for  twenty-four  years ; his  disciple  was 
Agnolo,  his  son ; I was  Agnolo’s  disciple  for  twelve  years,  and  he 
showed  me  this  method,”  etc.  Denys  writes : . . . “ The  little 
art  that  I know  I have  studied  and  acquired  with  difficulty,  since 
childhood,  striving  to  imitate,  as  well  as  I could,  the  celebrated  and 
illustrious  master  Panselinos  of  Thessalonica.  After  having  worked 
in  the  admirable  churches  on  the  Holy  Mount  of  Athos,  which  he 
adorned  with  magnificent  paintings,  this  painter,  by  the  mastery  u 
his  art,  shone  with  such  dazzling  brilliance  that  he  was  compared  to 
the - moon  in  all  her  splendor.”  (Hacra  heXgvij  = UavoeXqvog  = full- 
moon).  It  is  fair  to  assume  that  Panselinos  was  a contemporary  of 
Giotto  — an  assumption  that  is  supported  by  historical  evidence  and 
the  style  of  his  work.  Though  the  acknowledged  head  of 
the  Byzantine  school,  it  must  be  remembered  that  he  found 
the  types  already  fixed,  some  dating  back  to  the  fourth  century. 
Doubtless  he  played  with  these  types,  as  all  men  of  genius 
must  ever  play  with  restrictive  conventionalities,  though  probably 
much  less  than  the  leaders  of  the  Latin  schools,  who  were  allowed 
far  greater  latitude  in  their  interpretation  of  sacred  themes.  The 
Greek  artists  never  emancipated  themselves  from  the  decrees  of 
Nice,1  though,  doubtless,  every  now  and  then  able  men,  like  Pan- 
selinos-, took  certain  venial  liberties.  The  fact  that  all  the  Athonite 
painters  were  monks,  and  some  of  them  both  monks  and  priests, 
must  still  further  have  tended  to  cramp  their  inspirations,  and  to 
keep  them  within  prescribed  conventional  bounds,  grateful  to 
ascetics,  but  baneful  to  art.  As  I remarked,  in  a previous  chapter, 
an  excess  of  superstitious  zeal  would  hamper  a creative  artist ; and 
for  this  reason  it  is  better  for  art,  that  the  functions  of  painter  and 
monk  should  be  divorced,  even  though  the  latter  be  merely  nom- 
inal. The  Manual  does  not  state  whether  Panselinos  was  a monk ; it 
merely  refers  to  him  as  “ the  celebrated  and  illustrious  master.” 


1 “ Non  est  imaginum  structure,  pictorum  inventio,  sed  Ecc teslas  Catholicse 
probata  legislatio  et  traditio.  . . . Atqui  consilium  et  traditio  1st  a non  est  picto- 
ris  jus  enim  sola  ars  est).  verum  orninatio  et  dispositio  patrum  nostrorum , quat 
sedijicaverunt.  {bynodus  Nicxna  //.”)  787  A.  D. 


70 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


But  few  of  his  works  are  still  extant.  Those  at  Saloniki  — the  seat 
of  the  school  — are  but  mere  fragments,  peering  here  and  there 
through  their  shroud  of  Turkish  whitewash.  The  monks  of  Mt. 
Atlios  are  very  ready  to  show  the  visitor  a goodly  number  of  his 
paintings ; but  their  statements  are  contradictory  and  fabulous. 
Some  of  these  paintings,  however,  appear  to  be  very  old  and  of  a 
good  style ; among  others  — those  of  the  Protaton  at  Kares.  M. 
Bayet  says  that,  “ a Nativity  of  Christ  and  a Presentation  of  the 
Virgin  in  the  Temple  are  very  remarkable 
and  much  superior  to  the  ordinary  paint- 
ings of  Athos : they  are  natural,  and  of 
an  exceedingly  pure  taste.  The  forms  of 
the  women  are  slender  and  elegant,  their 
movements  full  of  life ; their  proportions 
are  correct,  and  a refined  beauty  illumines 
their  regular  features ; other  compositions 
show  the  same  qualities.  Unfortunately, 
all  these  paintings  are  threatened  with  im- 
pending ruin ; the  lines  are  becoming  ef- 
faced, the  colors  are  growing  pale,  the 
plaster  is  cracking  and  falling.  One  can- 
not but  feel  sad  in  seeing  the  almost  un- 
known chefs  d’ceuvre  of  an  art,  in  itself  so 
little  known,  thus  miserably  disappear.”1 
To  see  such  a manuscript  as  the  Manual 
of  Denys,  is  to  desire  to  possess  it.  Didron 
made  Joasapli  an  offer  for  his  copy,  but 
the  latter  naively  replied  that  he  could 
do  absolutely  nothing  without  it ; in  losing 
his  Manual  he  would  lose  his  art  — his  very  hands  and  eyes. 
“Besides,”  he  added,  “you  can  find  other  copies  of  this  manuscript 


i Figures  1,  2,  3,  4.  These  figures  are  traced  from  cliromo-lithographs  in  “ Les 
Arts  Sumptuaires,”  Haugard-Mange  : Paris,  1858.  Ch.  Louandre,  in  the  accom- 
panying text,  states  that  they  were  drawn  by  D.  Papety,  in  the  convent  of 
Aglua  Labra,  on  Mt.  Athos,  and  at  the  time  of  his  writing  were  in  the  Louvre. 
The  originals  formed  part  of  a vast  fresco  attributed  by  tradition  to  a monk 
named  Pantelinos.  [He  surely  means  Pans-fiinos.]  They  represent  Saints 
Leontius,  James-the-Persian,  George,  and  Mercury.  Whether  by  Panselinos  or 
not,  they  evidently  belong  to  the  best  period  of  Byzantine  art,  if  one  may 
judge  from  these  copies.  They  are  heroic,  solemn,  impressive  creations,  quietly 
harmonious  in  both  line  and  color.  Vitet  says  that  they  “are  of  the  grandest 
character,  proudly  and  simply  posed,  truly  Christian,  yet  conserving  withal  a 
certain  family  likeness  to  the  gods  of  the  Parthenon.” 

Figure  5 is  hereby  given  as  a foil  to  the  others.  It  is  from  a drawing  by  Paul 
Durand,  published  in  Bayet’s  Byzantine  Art.  The  date  of  this  mural  painting 
is  not  given. 


BYZANTIUM  AND  MT.  ATHOS. 


71 


at  K ares ; every  atelier  has  a transcript  of  it,  and,  notwithstand- 
ing the  decadence  into  which  painting  has  fallen  on  our  holy  moun- 
tain, there  are  still  at  Kares  four  complete  ateliers.”  And  so 
Didron  hastily  betook  himself  to  Kares,  and  straightway  went  to  the 
atelier  of  one  Father  Agapios,  an  aged  man,  who  painted  chiefly  for 
his  amusement.  Inasmuch  as  he  received  no  more  orders,  and 
needed  some  ready  money,  he  was  on  the  point  of  selling  his  copy, 
but  on  reflection  changed  his  mind,  thinking  that  death  might  not  be 
so  very  near,  and  hoping  that  he  might  receive  other  commissions; 
in  which  case  he  feared  that  his  confreres  would  not  allow  a copy 
to  be  made  from  their  manuscripts  to  replace  a sold  copy.  He 
might,  perhaps,  wish  to  leave  his  Manual  at  his  death  to  one  of  his 
assistants.  “ In  vain  I pressed  him ; be  refused.  To  soften  this 
refusal  ...  he  sold  to  M.  Durand,  for  a very  small  sum,  a beauti- 
ful little  original  drawing,  in  red  crayon,  of  the  Virgin  with  the 
child  Jesus  in  her  arms.”  Finally  one  of  the  painter-fathers  offered 
to  have  a copy  made  from  his  manuscript  for  the  zealous  Didron. 
This  after  a time  was  made,  and  after  still  further  time  arrived  in 
Paris,  where  it  was  translated  by  Paul  Durand,  Didron’s  fellow- 
traveler  and  most  industrious  draughtsman.  To  him  we  are 
indebted  for  many  of  the  drawings  made  from  Byzantine  frescos 
with  which  we  are  familiar.  The  Manual,  as  before  observed, 
was  published  in  1845.  Its  technical  part  seemed,  at  first,  to  be 
the  most  valuable.  It  proved  to  be  the  least  so.  “ The  recipes 
given  were  either  imperfectly  understood,  or  not  understood  at  all; 
the  substances  mentioned  apparently  had  no  analogies  with  us,  either 
on  account  of  some  real  difference,  or  because  no  synonym  could 
be  found.  One  could  neither  be  sure  of  the  measures,  nor  of  the 
proportions,  nor  of  the  terminology.  I begged  M.  Mialle,  Pro- 
fessor of  Pharmacy  to  the  Faculty  of  Medicine  of  Paris,  kindly  to 
study  this  part  of  the  manuscript.  . . . M.  Mialle  was  soon 
obliged  to  give  up  the  work,  and  he  wrote  to  me  as  follows  : 1 1 send 
you  a few  notes  that  I could  conscientiously  make ; I could  have 
easily  augmented  their  number,  had  I not  feared  to  pervert  the 
truth ; besides,  this  Manual  seems  to  me  very  incomplete  and  diffi- 
cult to  consult.’”  Though  the  first,  or  technical  part,  has  but 
little  value,  the  three  remaining  parts  that  treat  of  the  Byzantine 
iconography  are  of  “ capital  importance ; ” throwing  considerable 
light  even  on  the  Latin  and  Gothic. 

Coupled  with  Didron’s  personal  observations  on  the  staging  — the 
technical  part  of  the  Manual  has  great  interest  for  those  who  are 


72 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


concerned  with  mural  painting.  It  is  another  phase  of  fresco, 
which  will  be  developed  in  the  next  chapter. 

Notwithstanding  the  rigidity  of  its  traditions,  several  attempts 
have  been  made  to  Italianize  Byzantine  art.  Bayet  cites  as  an 
example  the  works  of  an  artist  named  Nicepborus,  who  executed, 
in  1795,  at  Iviron,  scenes  from  the  Apocalypse.  Without  doubt,  he 
had  visited  Venice.  “ The  Byzantine  painters  of  Athos  used  harsh 
tones  for  the  face  and  flesh ; at  least,  they  made  no  effort  to  blend 
them.  ...  It  is  by  means  of  vigorous  and  dark  lines  that  they 
indicate  the  contours,  and  their  drawing  is  sharp  and  hard.”  Nice- 
phorus,  on  the  contrary,  used  delicate  lines  and  graded  his  tones? 
introducing  freely  the  Italian  chiaro-oseuro.  Another  painting,  dated 
1814,  was  inspired  by  Rubens’s  “ Descent  from  the  Cross.’  “For 
the  last  few  years,  however,  the  Russians,  established  in  the  great 
monasteries  of  Rossicon  and  Saint  Anna,  have  been  affecting  a 
clumsy  imitation  of  western  works.  Even  in  the  Greek  convents  I 
have  found  in  the  painters’  hands  specimens  of  German  engrav- 
ings, from  which  they  copy  the  compositions.  These  plagiarisms 
will  kill  Byzantine  art.  The  artists  who  remain  faithful  to  the 
ancient  traditions  lament  this  decadence ; but,  notwithstanding  their 
good  intents,  they  have  no  longer  vigor  enough  to  resurrect  an  art, 
long  since  on  the  wane.  Some  of  them  are  still  very  skilful,  but 
tneir  personality  is  gone.”  Father  Macarios,  the  strongest  painter 
on  the  Mount,  after  Joasaph,  regretfully  said  to  Didron  that  “ for- 
merly the  brushes  were  better,  the  quality  of  the  colors  excellent, 
hands  were  deft  and  hearts  ardent ; men  painted  slowly  and  thought- 
fully, that  they  might  produce  beautiful  works  and  gain  paradise.” 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


BYZANTINE  FRESCO. 


Everything  that  throws  light 

on  the  evolution  of  mural  paintings 
of  bygone  days  is  important.  To 
know  what  were  the  agencies  that 
caused  one  form  of  artistic  expression 
rather  than  another,  has  a didactic 
value  ; and  as  the  time-test  is  the  only 
true  test  of  the  stability  of  pictorial 
processes,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should 
know  just  what  these  processes  were, 
in  order  that  we  may  be  practically 
edified.  On  such  grounds  several 
lengthy  extracts  from  the  Manual  of  Denys  will  be  justified. 
The  discovery  of  this  manuscript  was  fully  chronicled  in  the  last 
chapter.  Denys’s  Exordium  is  a beautiful  and  innocent  orison  to 
the  Virgin : 

“TO  MARY,” 

“ MOTHER  OF  GOD  AND  FOREVER  VIRGIN.”  1 


Seal  from  Mount  Athos. 


“ O thou,  who  art  as  resplendent  as  the  sun,  much-beloved  and  all- 
gracious  Mother  of  God,  Mary!  Saint  Luke,  source  of  eloquence, 
most  learned  physician,  perfect  master,  and  thoroughly  versed  in 
all  the  sciences  and  all  knowledge,  having  been  sanctified  by  the 
precepts  of  the  Gospel — which  he  wrote  and  preached  aloud  — 
wished  to  declare  to  the  whole  world  the  very  holy  love  he  bore  thy 
gracious  and  divine  Majesty.  He  judged,  and  rightly,  too,  that 
from  his  stores  of  science  and  spiritual  riches  he  could  make  thee 
no  worthier  offering  than  the  representation  of  thy  admirable  beauty, 
so  full  of  charm,  which  he  had  contemplated  with  his  very  eyes. 
That  holy  and  learned  personage  employed  all  the  resources  of 
color  and  golden  mosaic  to  paint  and  faithfully  limn  thy  image  in 


1 Translated  from  Paul  Durand’s  French  version. 


74 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


liis  pictures,  according  to  the  rules  of  his  art.  I,  too,  in  my  turn  — 
feeble  imitator  — desired  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  that  holy  man, 
and  devoted  myself  to  religious  painting,  hoping  that  my  powers 
would  be  in  no  wise  inferior  to  my  good  will,  in  order  to  fulfil  m}r 
duty  to  thy  sacred  person,  thy  venerable  majesty,  and  thy  wonder- 
ful magnificence.  But  I confess  that  I deceived  myself  in  this 
bold  project,  for  neither  my  capacity  nor  my  talents  responded  to 
my  desires;  nevertheless,  I did  not  wish  to  abandon  completely  this 
fine  scheme,  nor  to  lose  all  the  fruit  of  my  labor;  therefore  I have 
dared  to  offer  and  place  in  thy  hands,  the  explanation  and  interpreta- 
tion of  that  art  which  I have  acquired  with  the  greatest  care  and 
most  conscientious  exactness,  in  order  to  form  the  very  best  method. 
For  I am  not  unaware,  O Virgin!  that  thou  and  the  Creator  of  all 
things  deign  to  accept  everything  that  man  can  do;  therefore  I 
offer  thee  this  work,  which  I have  devoted  to  painters  gifted  by 
nature,  to  aid  them  in  the  beginnings  of  their  art,  and  especially  to 
indicate  to  them  a good  system.  . . . Especially  do  I desire  that  thy 
dazzling  and  gracious  image  may  be  unceasingly  reflected  in  the 
image  of  their  souls,  and  may  keep  them  pure  to  the  end  of  all  time ; 
that  it  may  raise  the  lowly,  and  encourage  those  who  look  upon  and 
imitate  that  eternal  model  of  beauty.  May  I,  too,  by  the  help  of 
thy  blessed  virtues,  obtain  the  happiness  of  beholding  thee  face  to 
face  1 ” 

Then  follows  an  exhortation  to  the  profession,  beginning  thus : 
“TO  ALL  PAINTERS,” 

“AND  TO  THOSE  WHO,  FOR  THE  LOVE  OF  KNOWLEDGE,  MAY 
STUDY  THIS  BOOK.” 

“ Knowing,  O all  ye  disciples  of  laborious  painters,  that  the  Lord 
in  his  holy  Gospel  cursed  him  who  buried  his  talent,  saying  unto 
him : 4 Wicked  and  slothful  servant,  thou  oughtest  to  have  put  my 
money  to  the  exchangers,  in  order  that  at  my  coming  I should  have 
received  mine  own  with  usury/  I myself  feared  to  incur  this  male- 
diction.” 

And  thus  the  exhortation  concludes  : 

“ I laboriously  and  carefully  collected  all  this  material,  assisted  by 
my  pupil,  Master  Cyrillus  of  Ohio,  who  revised  it  most  scrupulously. 
Pray,  then,  for  us,  all  of  you,  that  the  Lord  may  deliver  us  from 
the  fear  of  being  condemned  as  wicked  servants. 

“ The  most  unworthy  of  painters,  Denys, 

Monk  of  Fourna  d’Agraplia.” 


BYZANTINE  FRESCO. 


75 


“ SEVERAL  PRELIMINARY  EXERCISES  AND  INSTRUCTIONS  ” 

“FOR  HIM  WHO  WISHES  TO  LEARN  THE  ART  OF  PAINTING.” 

“ Whoever  wishes  to  learn  the  science  of  painting,  should  begin 
by  approaching  it  gradually,  and  by  preparing  himself  for  some 
time  beforehand,  drawing  simply  and  without  intermission,  using 
no  measure  till  he  has  acquired  some  experience  and  given  proof 
of  capacity.  Then  let  him  address  to  Jesus  Christ  the  following 
prayer  and  supplication  before  an  image  of  the  Mother  of  God, 
the  virgin  Conductress,  whilst  a priest  blesses  him : ‘ King  of 
Heaven,  etc.*  . . . Then,  having  traced  on  his  head  the  sign  of 
the  cross,  let  him  say  with  a loud  voice:  ‘We  pray  the  Lord  — 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our  God  1 Thou  who  art  endowed  with  a nature 
divine  and  limitless,  . . . who  hast  illumined  with  thy  Holy  Spirit 
thy  divine  Apostle  and  Evangelist  Luke,  to  the  end  that  he  might 
represent  the  beauty  of  thy  most  pure  Mother,  . . . thou,  Divine 
Master  of  all  that  exists,  enlighten  and  guide  the  soul,  heart  and 
mind  of  thy  servant ; so  direct  his  hands  that  he  may  worthily  and 
perfectly  represent  thy  image,  that  of  thy  most  blessed  Mother,  and 
those  of  all  the  Saints ; for  the  glory,  joy  and  adornment  of  thy 
most  Holy  Church.  Pardon  the  sins  of  those  who  may  venerate 
these  images.  . . . Amen  I ” 


“INVITATORY  AND  CONCLUSION.” 

“After  the  prayer,  the  pupil  must  learn  with  exactness  the  propor- 
tions and  types  of  figures;  he  must  draw  much;  he  must  work 
unremittingly,  and,  with  God’s  help,  he  will  become  skilful  at 
the  end  of  some  time,  as  experience  has  demonstrated  in  the 
case  of  my  own  pupils.  I have  toiled  with  pleasure  over 
this  work,  to  the  end  that  painters,  my  brothers  in  Jesus 
Christ,  and  all  those  who  shall  adopt  this  book,  may  labor  for 
the  glory  of  God.  Let  them  pray  to  God  for  me.  [Here  is 
a note  of  warning  to  malevolent  critics.]  But  if  any  wicked  or 
envious  one,  should  blame,  in  any  way  whatsoever,  my  disinter- 
ested enterprise,  let  him  know  that  he  will  only  wrong  himself ; for, 
as  a certain  author  has  said,  envy  is  an  evil  thing  but  at  least  it 
has  one  advantage,  that  it  devours  the  eyes  and  the  heart  of  its 
possessor.  God  knows  that  I composed  this  work  only  to  be  use- 
ful, so  far  as  lay  in  my  power,  to  whoever  intends  to  consecrate  him- 
self to  this  art,  and  to  give  himself  up  to  it  with  the  love  of  a zeal- 
ous disciple,  and  eager  above  all  things  to  possess  the  precepts  of 


76 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


this  book.  It  is  to  him  that  I address,  in  all  friendship,  the  follow- 
ing counsel : Know  well,  O studious  pupil,  that  if  you  wish  to  devote 
yourself  to  this  science  of  painting,  you  must  find  an  able  master, 
who  will  teach  you  in  a short  time,  provided  he  directs  you  accord- 
ing to  our  instructions.  But  if  you  only  meet  wiih  a master  whose 
teaching  and  art  are  imperfect,  try  to  do  as  we  did,  that  is,  seek 
some  originals  by  the  celebrated  Manuel  Panselinos.  Work  from 
them  a long  while,  exerting  yourself  till  you  have  mastered  the  pro- 
portions and  types  of  this  painter’s  figures.  ...  It  is  not  only 
Saint  Luke  who  is  blessed,  but  all  those  who  represent  and  try  to 
show  forth  the  miracles,  the  holy  portraits  of  the  Lord,  of  the 
Mother  of  God  and  of  the  other  Saints ; for  this  art  of  painting  is 
agreeable  to  God,  and  is  well-viewed  by  him.  Thus  all  who  work 
with  care  and  piety  receive  from  heaven  grace  and  benedictions. 
But  let  all  those  who  only  strive  for  the  love  of  money,  and 
who  are  neither  painstaking  nor  pious,  reflect  well  before  they 
die : they  should  remember  with  fear  the  chastisement  of  him 
whom  they  imitate  — of  Judas,  expiating  his  crime  in  the  torments 
of  hell-fire,  from  which  we  hope  to  be  redeemed  by  the  merits  of  the 
Mother  of  God,  of  Saint  Luke  the  Apostle,  and  of  all  the  Saints. 
Amen.” 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  the  Italian  Cennino’s  [1437]  exord- 
ium with  that  of  Denys.  The  former  is  instinct  with  piety,  but  of  a 
less  slavish  kind.  There  is  in  it  a recognition  of  personal  inspira- 
tion, and  an  artistic  freedom  unknown  to  the  Byzantine.  The  quo- 
tations that  follow  are  from  Mrs.  Merri field’s  translation. 

“ Chapter  1.  Here  begins  the  book  on  the  art,  made  and  com- 
posed by  Cennino  da  Colie,  in  the  reverence  of  God,  and  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  and  of  St.  Eustachius,  and  of  St.  Francis,  and  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  and  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  and  generally  of 
all  the  Saints  of  God,  and  in  the  reverence  of  Giotto,  of  Taddeo  and 
of  Agnolo,  the  master  of  Cennino,  and  for  the  utility,  and  good,  and 
advantage  of  those  who  would  obtain  perfection  in  the  arts.” 

In  the  beginning  the  omnipotent  God  created  the  heaven  and  the 
earth,  and,  above  all,  animals  and  food ; he  created  man  and  woman 
after  his  own  image,  endowing  them  with  all  the  virtues.  But  Adam 
was  tempted,  and  fell  through  the  envy  of  Lucifer,  who,  with  malice 
and  subtlety,  induced  him  to  sin  against  the  commandment  of  God 
(first  Eve  sinned,  and  then  Adam)  ; . . . Then  Adam,  knowing 
the  sin  he  had  committed,  and  being  nobly  endowed  by  God  as  the 
root  and  father  of  us  all,  discovered,  by  his  wisdom  and  his  necessi 


EYZANTIXE  FRESCO. 


77 


ties,  liow  to  live  by  his  own  manual  exertions.  And  thus  he  began 
by  digging,  and  Eve  by  spinning.  Then  followed  many  necessary 
arts,  different  each  from  the  other,  and  each  more  scientific  than  the 
other;  for  they  could  not  all  be  equally  so.  Now,  the  most  worthy 
is  Science ; after  which  comes  an  art  derived  from  Science,  and  depend- 
ent on  the  operations  of  the  hand,  and  this  is  called  Painting,  for 
which  we  must  be  endowed  with  imagination  and  skill,  to  discover 
things  (concealed  under  the  shade  of  nature),  and  form  with  the 
hand,  and  present  to  the  sight,  that  which  did  not  before  appear  to 
exist.  And  well  does  it  deserve  to  be  placed  in  the  rank  next  to 
Science,  and  to  be  crowned  by  Poetry,  and  for  this  reason,  that  the 
poet,  by  the  help  of  science,  becomes  worthy,  and  free,  and  able  to 
compose  and  bind  together  or  not  at  pleasure.  So  to  the  painter  lib- 
erty is  given  to  compose  a figure,  either  upright  or  sitting,  or  half- 
man, half-horse,  as  he  pleases,  according  to  his  fancy.  I have  there- 
fore undertaken  to  adorn  this  principal  science  with  some  jewels,  for 
the  benefit  of  all  those  persons  who  feel  inclined  to  learn  the  various 
methods,  and  who  worthily  and  without  bashfulness  set  themselves 
about  it;  devoting  to  the  before-mentioned  science  what  little  knowl- 
edge God  has  given  me,  as  an  unworthy  member  and  servant  of  the 
art  of  painting.”  . . . 

“ It  is  the  stimulus  of  a noble  mind  which  induces  persons  to  study 
these  arts,  made  pleasing  to  them  by  the  love  of  nature.  The  intel- 
lect delights  in  invention,  and  it  is  nature  alone,  and  the  impulse  of  a 
great  mind  which  attracts  them,  without  the  guidance  of  a master. 
The  delight  they  take  in  these  studies  induces  them  to  seek  a master, 
and  they  gladly  dispose  themselves  to  obey  him,  being  in  servitude, 
that  they  may  carry  their  art  to  perfection.  There  are  some  who 
follow  the  arts  from  poverty  and  necessity ; but  those  who  pursue 
them  from  love  of  the  art  and  true  nobleness  of  mind  are  to  be  com- 
mended above  all  others.”  1 


THE  PROCESS. 

As  the  difference  between  the  recipes  of  Denys  and  those  of  the 
modern  Atlionite  painters  is  but  slight  and  unimportant,  and  inas- 


1Jt  would  be  interesting  for  further  comparison,  did  space  permit,  tc  quote 
from  the  book  of  the  Latin  monk  Tlaeophilus,  written  probably  in  tlie  early  part 
of  the  eleventh  century:  “I,  Theophilus,  an  humble  priest,  servant  of  the  ser- 
vants of  God,  unworthy  of  the  name  and  profession  of  a monk,”  etc.  He  tells  us 
that  Greece  was  the  painter  of  the  world  in  his  day,  and  France  the  glass- 
worker.  He  makes  but  one  slight  and  questionable  reference  to  fresco.  Speak- 
ing of  a pigment  called  prasinus,  he  says  : ” Its  use  is  rather  advantageous  as  a 
green  color  on  a fresh  wall.”  [Schedula  Diversarum  Aitium.l 


78 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


much  as  the  former  are  at  times  somewhat  obscure,  and  would  be  still 
more  so  were  they  not  elucidated  by  the  modern  methods,  I shall  give 
Didron’s  account  of  what  he  saw  on  the  staging  in  the  Monastery  of 
Esphigmenou,  supplementing  it  by  a few  excerpts  from  the  manual. 

“ This,  then,  is  the  manner  in  which  I saw  a fresco  painted  . . . 
by  Father  Joasaph,  his  brother,  a first  pupil  who  was  a deacon  and 
prospective  inheritor  of  the  atelier,  [a  second  pupil]  and  by  two 
children  from  twelve  to  fifteen  years.” 

“ The  porch  of  the  church,  or  narthex,  which  was  being  painted  at 
the  time  of  our  sojourn,  had  just  been  built.  It  was  scaffolded  to  re- 
ceive the  frescos  in  the  upper  part  of  the  vaults.  Workmen,  under 
the  painter’s  direction,  were  preparing  in  the  court-yard  the  lime  for 
plastering  the  walls.  As  it  is  applied  in  two  coats,  there  are  two 
kinds  of  lime ; the  first,  a sort  of  mortar,  rather  fine,  is  mixed  with 
straw,  chopped  small,  which  gives  it  a yellowish  color  ; cotton  or  flax 
is  mixed  with  the  second,  .which  is  less  coarse  in  quality.  The  first 
coat  is  laid  with  the  yellowish  lime ; it  sticks  to  the  wall  better  than 
the  second.  The  second  is  white  and  fine,  and,  owing  to  the  cotton, 
makes  a pretty  stiff  paste ; it  is  this  coat  that  receives  the  painting.” 

“ The  workmen  then  bring  the  yellow  lime,  and  lay  a coat  of  it  on 
the  wall  about  one-fifth  of  an  inch  thick.  Over  this  coat,  several 
hours  afterwards,  a pellicle  of  fine  white  lime  is  spread.  This  sec- 
ond operation  requires  greater  care  than  the  first,  and  I saw  Joa- 
sapli’s  brother,  himself  a painter,  apply  this  second  coat  of  lime. 
Three  days  are  allowed  for  the  evaporation  of  the  humidity.  If  one 
should  paint  before  the  expiration  of  this  time,  the  lime  would  soil 
the  colors  ; 1 if  after,  the  painting  would  not  be  solid,  and  would  not 
penetrate  the  lime,  which  would  be  too  hard,  too  dry  to  absorb 
the  colors.2  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  the  thermometric 
state  of  the  atmosphere  may  curtail  or  protract  the  interval  that  must 
be  allowed  for  the  drying  of  the  lime  before  beginning  to  paint.” 

“ Before  drawing,  the  master-painter  smoothes  the  lime  with  a 
spatula;  then  by  means  of  a string  he  determines  the  dimensions  of 
his  picture.  In  the  field  o.f  this  figure  composition  he  measures  with  a 
compass  the  size  of  the  different  objects  he  wishes  to  represent.  The 
compass  that  Father  Joasaph  used  was  merely  a reed,  bent  double, 
split  in  the  middle  and  controlled  by  a bit  of  wood  that  joined  the 
legs  and  opened  or  shut  them  at  will.  One  of  the  legs  was  pointed, 

iTlie  materials  with  which  the  lime  is  mixed  might  soil  the  colors.  There  is 
no  reason  why  the  lime  should.  Didron  inexactly  uses  the  same  word,  cliaux, 
both  for  the  lime  itself  and  for  the  lime  mixed  with  the  straw  or  tOAV. 

2 In  other  words,  the  crust  of  carbonate  of  lime  would  have  been  formed. 


BYZANTINE  FRESCO. 


79 


the  other  was  provided  with  a brush.  It  would  be  impossible  to 
fashion  a more  simple,  convenient  and  economical  compass. 

“ The  brush  with  which  one  of  the  legs  is  furnished  is  dipped  in 
red  ; with  this  color  the  picture  is  delicately  outlined.  The  compass 
is  chiefly  used  for  the  nimbi,  the  heads,  and  the  circular  parts  ; the  rest 
is  drawn  by  the  hand,  provided  only  with  a brush.”  In  a little  less 
than  an  hour  Father  doasapli  outlined  a life-sized  picture,  represent- 
ing Christ  in  the  midst  of  his  apostles,  entirely  from  his  head,  and 
without  a single  alteration,  as  related  in  the  preceding  chapter.  He 
began  with  the  figure  of  Christ.  u First  he  did  the  head,  then  the 
rest  of  the  body,  always  descending.  Afterwards  he  drew  the  first 
apostle  to  the  right,  then  the  first  to  the  left,  then  the  second  to  the 
right,  then  the  second  to  the  left,  and  so  on  symmetrically  for  the 
rest.  The  painter  sketched  with  his  hand  raised,  so  to  speak,  and 
without  a mahl-stick ; this  instrument  used  by  our  painters,  would 
indent  the  moist  lime.  But  the  hand,  when  it  trembles  or  is  fatigued, 
is  rested  on  the  wall  itself.” 

The  outlines  of  the  figures  are  filled-in  with  black,  relieved  here  and 
there  with  blue,  but  always  in  flat  tints.  This  is  done  by  an  inferior 
painter  who  draws  the  draperies  and  ornaments  on  this  ground. 
The  nude  parts  are  reserved  for  the  master.1  All  the  draperies  are 
completed,  and  the  nimbus  is  outlined,  before  the  head,  hands  and 
feet  are  painted.  The  master  then  takes  up  the  work  and  completes 
the  head.  He  prepares  the  face  with  a blackish  tint,  and  strength- 
ens the  outline  with  a still  darker  color.  He  paints  two  figures  at 
a time,  going  ceaselessly  from  one  to  the  other  : a change  that  per- 
mits the  absorption  of  the  washes  without  loss  of  time.  A prelimi- 
nary wash  modifies  the  black  undertone,  and  other  washes  follow 
quickly,  the  last  having  more  body.  Xow  the  painter  takes  advan- 
tage of  the  undertone  for  his  shadows  ; now  he  puts  on  his  high 
lights;  now  he  colors  the  hair;  here  he  reddens  the  lips,  there  the 
cheeks ; then  he  colors  the  eyes,  and  so  on  to  the  end.  The  nimbus 
serves  for  a color-test.  [It  is  not  always  easy  to  follow  Didron  in  his 
details  of  the  process.  Being  a layman  he  is  at  times  obscure,  but 
not  in  the  essentials.]  The  two  heads  were  finished  in  a trifle  less 
than  an  hour.  The  same  painter  completed  a “ Conversion  of  St. 
Paul,”  a fresco  3x4  metres,  containing  twelve  figures  and  three 
horses,  in  five  days.  “ This  painting  was  not  a chef  d’ oeuvre  assuredly, 
but  it  was  better  than  those  that  cost  our  painters  of  the  second  class, 
six  or  eight  months’  labor.  I doubt  even  if  our  great  painters  charged 


Hence  the  many  inequalities  of  execution  in  large  works. 


80 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


with  a religious  composition  could  do  more  uniformly  well ; there  would 
be  higher  qualities,  but  greater  faults  in  their  work  than  in  the  fresco 
of  Mount  Athos.,,  Prof.  Franchi,  of  Siena,  with  all  his  Italian  facility, 
devoted  nearly  three  hours  to  a delicately-moulded  head  in  fresco. 
Wilson  says  that  Michael  Angelo  allowed  an  entire  day  for  the  heads 
in  the  Sistine  Chapel,  which  were  very  carefully  finished.1  Much  less 
time  means  much  less  modelling.  Didron  does  not  state  how  much  the 
Athonite  painters  modelled  their  figures  ; but  from  his  notes  and  from 
sundry  implications  in  the  manual,  I should  infer  that  the  colors  were 
not  merely  laid  on  in  fiat  tints  — which  were  doubtless  used  at  times 
with  great  effect  — but  that  the  lights  were  broadly  blended  into  the 
shadows,  and  the  features,  hair  and  contours  emphasized  by  a bold 
and  obvious  use  of  the  line.  Elaborate  modelling  was  suppressed,  as 
the  short  time  required  for  painting  two  heads  clearly  proves. 

The  gold  and  silver  for  the  nimbi  and  costumes  are  applied  when 
the  plaster  is  thoroughly  dry.  The  picture  is  then  enriched  with 
the  finest  colors,  “particularly  with  Venetian  azure/’  and  the  orna- 
ments that  decorate  the  halos,  stuffs,  etc.,  are  painted.  The  coarser 
colors  which  were  used  for  the  figures  must  be  thoroughly  dry,  so 
as  not  to  injure  the  more  precious  colors,  nor  the  gold  and  silver. 
This  last  paragraph  is  a paraphrase  of  Didron’s  longer  one.  In  it  the 
secco  process,  so  grudgingly  used  by  the  Italians,  is  recognizable; 
only  Didron  has  omitted  one  important  element,  the  size,  which  is 
always  mixed  with  the  colors  for  secco  retouches.  The  Manual  of 
Denys,  however,  supplies  the  omission,  for  it  gives  explicit  directions 
for  the  use  of  azure  “a  secco.”  “Take  bran,  wash  and  rinse  it. 
Then  let  the  water  that  has  served  for  this  purpose  stand ; after- 
wards boil  it,  and  when  it  is  cooked,  you  can  mix  it  with  the  azure, 
and  paint  the  grounds.  Others  maintain  that  to  make  a water  suffi- 
ciently glutinous,  the  bran  must  be  boiled  for  a very  long  time  and 
then  filtered.  In  either  case,  before  using  the  azure,  be  sure  that 
the  wall  is  very  dry.”  A special  artist,  whose  sole  business  it  is  to 
letter,  writes  the  name  of  the  personage  on  the  field  of  the  nimbus, 
or  around  it;  and  he  traces  on  the  scroll  held  by  the  figure  the 
consecrated  legend  recommended  by  the  Manual.  When  this  is 
done  “ all  is  finished.”  Having  summarily  described  the  modern 
Athonite  or  Byzantine  process  of  fresco,  I shall  conclude  with  a few 
supplementary  extracts  from  the  Manual,  which  will  now  be  more 
readily  comprehended,  and  with  several  observations,  deductions, 
and  comparisons  suggested  by  Didron’s  researches. 


1 He  probably  means  one  long  sitting;  the  balance  of  the  day  being  spent  in 
the  prepa, ration  of  his  cartoons,  etc.,  perhaps. 


e ’ (Oil  Painting)  by  Paolo  Veronese,  (1528-1  588).  Ceiling 
Saladel  Collegio,  Ducal  Palace,  Venice. 


BYZANTINE  FRESCO. 


81 


1.  “ How  to  purify  lime.  When  you  wish  to  paint  on  walls,  choose 
good  lime;  let  it  be  as  fat  as  lard,  and  see  that  it  contains  no  uncal- 
cined stones.  If  it  is  poor  and  filled  with  such  stones,  make  a trough 
of  wood.  Dig  a pit  of  the  necessary  size,  put  the  lime  in  the  trough, 
and  add  water  which  must  be  stirred  with  a hoe  till  the  lime  ap- 
pears to  be  thoroughly  diluted.  Pour  this  into  a basket  placed  over 
the  pit,  which  will  arrest  the  stones.  Then  the  milk  of  lime  thus 
obtained  must  be  let  alone  till  it  has  coagulated  and  can  be  taken 
up  with  a shovel.”  [Further  than  this  the  Manual  does  not  state 
how  long  the  slaked  lime  should  be  kept]. 

2.  “ How  to  mix  lime  with  straw.  Take  some  of  the  purified  lime 
and  put  it  in  a large  trough.  Choose  fine  straw  without  dust,  mix 
it  with  the  lime,  stirring  it  with  a mattock.  If  the  lime  is  too 
thick,  add  water  till  it  can  be  worked  easily.  Let  it  ferment  two  or 
three  days,  and  you  may  then  apply  it.” 

3.  “ How  to  mix  lime  with  tow.  Choose  the  best  lime  you  have  pre- 
pared, put  it  in  a small  trough.  Take  tow  well  cleansed  from  all 
bark  and  well  crushed ; twist  it  as  if  to  make  a rope,  and  by  means  of 
a hatchet,  chop  it  up  as  fine  as  you  can ; shake  it  well  to  allow  the 
dirt  to  fall,  and  throw  it  into  the  trough,  where  you  must  mix  it  care- 
fulh’’  with  a shovel  or  mattock.  You  must  take  care  to  try  and  try 
again,  till  the  lime  does  not  crack  on  the  wall.  Let  it  ferment  as  you 
did  the  other,  and  you  will  thus  have  lime  prepared  with  tow,  to  form 
the  superficial  coat  ” [on  which  the  picture  is  painted]. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Father  Joasapli  and  his  coadjutors  substi- 
tuted cotton  or  flax  for  tow. 

4.  “ How  to  plaster  walls.  When  you  wish  to  paint  a church  you 
must  begin  with  the  highest  and  end  with  the  lowest  parts.  . . . 
Then  take  water  in  a lame  vase,  and  throw  it  with  a spoon  against 
the  wall  to  moisten  it.  . . . If  the  wall  is  brick,  wet  it  five  or  six 
times,  and  give  it  a coat  of  lime,  two  fingers  and  more  thick,  that  it 
may  retain  its  humidity,  and  that  you  may  profit  by  it.  If  the  wall 
is  stone,  wet  it  only  once  or  twice,  and  lay  on  much  less  lime,  for 
the  stone  readily  absorbs  moisture,  and  does  not  dry.  During  the 
winter  apply  one  coat  in  the  evening,  and  a superficial  one  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  In  the  fine  season  do  whatever  may  be  the  most 
convenient,  and  having  applied  the  last  coat,  level  it  well,  let  it 
acquire  some  consistence,  then  work.” 

5.  How  to  paint  on  walls.  The  picture  having  been  outlined,  “pol- 
ish the  drapery  [the  plaster  on  which  it  is  to  be  painted],  and  lay  on 
an  undertone.  Try  to  finish  very  quickly  what  you  have  polished, 


82 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


for,  should  you  delay,  there  would  be  formed  on  the  surface  a crust 
that  would  not  absorb  the  colors.  Work  the  face  in  the  same  way ; 
draw  the  outline  with  a pointed  bone,  and  put  on  the  flesh-color  as 
promptly  as  possible  before  the  formation  of  a crust,  as  we  have  said 
before.” 

6.  “ How  to  prepare  the  white  for  wall-painting.1  Take  some  very 
old  lime,  try  it  on  your  tongue  ; if  it  be  neither  bitter  nor  astringent, 
but  insipid,  like  earth,  then  it  is  good.  It  is  with  this  lime,  well- 
selected  and  well-ground,  that  the  white  is  prepared.  If  you  cannot 
find  such  lime,  take  old  plaster  that  has  been  painted,  scrape  off  the 
colors  entirely,  and  grind  it  on  a marble  slab  ; throw  it  into  a vase 
full  of  water,  allow  it  to  precipitate,  and  strain  it.  You  will  obtain 
white  by  this  method.  If  you  cannot  find  such  plaster,  you  must 
cook  lime,  spread,  dry,  and  finally  grind  it.  Always  take  care  to  try 
if  it  be  bitter  or  astringent;  for  such  must  be  rejected,  as  in  that 
case  the  crust  would  be  formed  too  quickly,  which  would  greatly 
impede  the  work ; if  it  is  not  bitter  you  can  work  without  fear.” 

7.  Though  the  Manual  recommends  a sort  of  palette,  the  modern 
Atlionite  painters  use  none.  Each  color  is  diluted  in  a cup  or  vase, 
and  taken  from  it  when  needed  with  the  same  brush  that  has  served 
for  the  other  colors,  having  first  been  rinsed  in  water.  The  tints  are 
tested  on  the  field  of  the  halos  that  are  subsequently  gilded.  I have 
seen  Japanese  artists  work  in  this  way,  without  a palette  ; and,  like 
the  painters  of  Mt.  Atlios,  they  designed  from  imagination  with  great 
rapidity  — and  at  times  upside  down  — without  auxiliary  sketches 
or  models. 

8.  From  the  foregoing  description  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Byzan- 
tine resembles  the  old  Roman  method  in  one  important  respect, 
wherein  both  differ  from  the  Italian.  According  to  Vitruvius  the 
ancient  plaster  was  laid  over  a dry  rough-cast  in  six  succeeding  coats 

— the  first  three  lime  and  sand,  the  last  three  lime  and  marble-dust 

— and  well  beaten  while  all  were  wet.  Thus  a compact  mass  was 
formed  that  would  retain  its  moisture  for  several  days  and  permit 
the  painter  to  work  leisurely.  The  average  thickness  of  this  plaster 
was  about  2.7  inches.  While  the  Byzantine  plaster  was  very  much 
thinner  — the  modern  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch,  the  mediaeval 
somewhat  thicker — the  moisture  was  retained  by  mixing  straw  with 
the  first  coat  of  lime,  and,  while  this  was  still  wet,  by  applying  a 
second  coat  of  lime  and  tow  (or  cotton  or  flax).  Three  days  elapsed 
before  the  painting  was  begun.  Both  Roman  and  Byzantine  surfaces 


1 White  lead  is  not  suitable  for  frescos. 


BYZANTINE  FRESCO. 


83 


were  polished,  an  operation  that  retarded  the  setting  of  the  plaster 
by  presenting  a greater  obstacle  to  the  penetration  of  the  carbonic 
acid.  The  Italians  allowed  the  rough-cast  to  dry  thoroughly  before 
the  intonaco  was  applied.  This  was  about  one-tenth  of  an  inch  thick 
and  applied  in  two  coats  of  lime  and  sand.  Sand  accelerates  the 
setting  and  hurries  the  painter,  who  must  finish  before  the  crust  is 
formed.  But  this  disadvantage  of  sand  as  compared  with  straw,  or 
tow,  is  more  than  offset  by  its  superior  binding  qualities.  The 
Italians  retarded  the  setting  of  the  plaster  as  much  as  they  could  by 
washing  the  lime  in  water  containing  carbonic  acid,  thus  ridding  it 
of  some  of  its  causticity,  but  not  enough  to  compromise  the  final 
induration  of  the  plaster.  They  were  obliged  to  work  surely  and 
promptly,  but  not  hurridly.  The  Byzantines  could  work  more  leis- 
urely ; but  from  certain  observations  recorded  by  Bayet,  I should 
judge  that  their  paintings  were  less  durable.  The  Roman  method 
seems  the  best  from  all  points  of  view,  but  we  must  content  ourselves 
with  this  doubt-implying  word. 

I reluctantly  close  this  chapter  without  further  quoting  from  the 
Manual  — there  is  so  much  of  interest  in  it.  The  poor  monk  who, 
for  seventy  francs  copied  the  manuscript,  concludes  his  work  with 
this  prayer  : — 

“GLORY  TO  GOD.” 

“ Having  finished,  I said  : Glory  to  thee,  O Lord  ! And  I said 
again  : Glory  to  thee,  O my  Lord  ! And  yet  a third  time  I said  : 
Glory  to  the  God  of  the  whole  Universe ! ” 


From  Mt.  Athos. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


DURABILITY  OF  FRESCO. — ITS  PRESENT  POSSIBILITIES. — FRESCO 
COMPARED  WITH  WAX-PAINTING. — FRESCO-SECCO. 

JJ  COMPARA- 
(X  T ^ VE  study 
of  the  various 
fresco  methods 
would  be  utterly 
barren  had  it  no 
practical  import. 
Were  it  not  preg- 
nant with  fruitful 
lessons,  it  would 
be  well  to  leave 
such  an  examina- 
tion to  archaeolo- 
gists, and  men  of 
letters.  I have 
been  obliged  now 
and  then  most  un- 
willingly to  tres- 
pass on  their  pre- 
serves. The  his- 
tory and  criticism 
of  art  as  under- 
stood to-day  have 
too  wide  a range 
for  a single  mind. 
'Philosophy'  by  Raphael  (Vatican),  fresco.  Its  different 

epochs  and  various  applications  call  for  specialists.  When  the  doctors  . 
have  disagreed  on  subjects  pertaining  to  my  craft,  I have  merely 
applied  a painter’s  instinct  and  experience  to  form  a personal  opinion. 
A great  deal  has  been  written  about  the  Pompeian  frescos,  but  none 
have  written  more  convincingly  than  Donner  and  Cros,  both  painters. 


DURABILITY  OF  FRESCO. 


85 


Though,  as  I have  before  remarked,  there  is  something  positively  mar- 
velous about  the  preservation  of  these  paintings,  yet  we  are  forced  to 
accept  the  conclusions  of  such  practical  men — at  least  for  the  present 
— that  they  are  frescos.  Pompeii  was  buried  to  the  depth  of  a little 
more  than  sixteen  feet  by  the  eruption  of  Vesuvius  (a.  d.,  79),  the  lower 
thirteen  feet  being  composed  of  pumice,  the  remainder  of  fine  ashes. 
Subsequent  eruptions  added  their  quota  of  volcanic  matter,  which 
was  finally  covered  by  about  two  feet  of  vegetable  mould,  in  all  from 
twenty  to  twenty-four  feet.  Though  the  water  might  quickly  perco- 
late through  the  ashes  and  sand,  yet  the  paintings  must  have  been 
thoroughly  drenched  after  every  heavy  rain,  and  we  cannot  attribute 
their  preservation  to  the  nature  of  the  soil ; for  any  such  hypothesis 
would  be  shattered  by  the  equally  wonderful  preservation  of  the  Far- 
nesina  frescos  (as  I am  told  by  a competent  eye-witness)  discovered 
in  1879,  that  have  lain  imbedded  for  centuries  in  the  deposits  of  the 
“yellow”  Tiber.  The  much  older  fragments  of  painted  plaster  re- 
cently found  in  the  pre-historic  palace  of  Tiryns  have  not  fared  so 
well.  Those  on  the  walls  which  were  most  exposed  to  the  action  of 
water  filtering  through  the  superjacent  soil  are  the  least  well  pre- 
served. Other  detached  fragments  found  among  the  debris  on  the 
floors  are  less  injured,  and  of  these  the  bits  that  were  found  face 
downwards,  and  consequently  more  efficiently  protected  from  the 
effects  of  water,  are  the  freshest  of  all.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
Schliemann  and  Dorpfeld  do  not  develop  their  reasons  for  believing 
these  paintings  to  be  frescos  — the  one  reason  given  being  somewhat 
insufficient — but  accepting  them  to  be  such,  we  can  readily  account 
for  their  comparative  decay,  when  we  are  told  that  the  walls  were 
first  covered  with  clay,  and  then  plastered  [no  analysis  of  the  plas- 
tering, which  was  evidently  rude,  is  given]. 1 Light  tends  to  fade 
fresco  colors,  and  the  absence  of  it  has  undoubtedly  contributed  to 
the  preservation  of  ancient  pictures.  The  paintings  left  in  situ  at 
Pompeii,  though  many  of  them  are  protected  from  the  rain  by  pro- 
jections, are  rapidly  disappearing ; but  this  is  not  a fair  test,  as 


1 At  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts  there  are  some  fragments  of  colored  wal  1- 
plaster  from  Assos.  The  largest  piece  is  about  two  inches  thick,  but  does  not 
represent  the  entire  thickness  of  the  plaster.  It  is  composed  of  three  clearly- 
de’fined  coats.  So  much  of  the  first  has  been  detached  that  its  original  thickness 
cannot  be  determined.  Curiously  enough  it  is  made  of  lime  and  chopped  straw, 
as  was  recommended  hundreds  of  years  later  by  the  monk  Denys,  and  as  prac- 
ticed to-day  by  the  Athonite  frescoers.  The  second  coat  is  a mixture  of  coaise 
sand  and  lime,  grayish  in  tone.  It  is  six-tenths  of  an  inch  thick.  The  third,  or 
superficial  coat,  two-tenths  of  an  inch  thick,  is  composed  of  lime  and  a finer 
quality  of  sand,  and  is  much  whiter  than  the  preceding  coat.  On  this  third  coat 
is  spread  a color  resembling  vermilion,  pale  and  dirty  when  dry,  but  brilliant 
and  fresh  when  wet.  It  is  applied  a buon-fresco.  The  plaster  is  rather  friable. 


86 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


it  is  well  known  that  fresco  can  neither  withstand  the  attacks 
of  sun  nor  atmospheric  corrosion.  Those  that  were  removed  to 
the  Museum  at  Naples  have  not  deteriorated.  The  durability  ofc' 
the  ancient  frescos  must  be  chiefly  ascribed  to  the  excellence  of 
the  plastering ; and  their  relative  degree  of  soundness  is  appar- 
ently in  direct  ratio  to  its  solidity.  This  is  further  corroborated 
by  the  relative  condition  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  frescos.  Though 
these  may  be  superior  artistically  to  extant  ancient  frescos,  they 
have  deteriorated  more  rapidly.  Neither  Donner  nor  Cros  find 
any  signs  of  pouncing  or  point-tracing  in  the  mural  figure  work  of 
the  ancients,  a fact  that  accounts  for  the  many  faulty  proportions. 
The  Pompeian  painters  worked  freely  and  drew  carelessly,  notwith- 
standing the  mechanical  excellence  of  their  methods.  In  this  respect 
they  resembled  the  Byzantine  artists  who  also  drew  from  inspira- 
tion without  preparatory  cartoons.  But  the  latter  carefully  estab- 
lished the  proportions  of  their  figures  with  the  compass,  attempted 
much  less,  and  were  thoroughly  versed  in  conventional  expression. 
There  is  a great  difference  in  the  present  condition  of  the  Italian  fres- 
cos. Their  decay  is  not  proportional  to  their  years.  Some  of  the  ear- 
liest by  Giotto  [1276-1337]  and  his  school  are  much  sounder  than 
others  painted  several  centuries  later.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  all 
old  plaster  is  good.  Croaking  fanatics  too  frequently  fall  into  such 
errors.  As  a matter  of  fact  the  Italians  were  careless  plasterers.  They 
took  care  that  the  lime  was  thoroughly  slaked — an  example  we  might 
follow  with  profit — but  they  often  applied  it  to  the  wall  in  the  rudest 
fashion,  as  uneven  and  broken  surfaces  testify.  The  Venetians  were 
notably  negligent  in  this  respect,  much  more  so  than  the  Tuscans,  who 
were  not  always  over-careful.  There  are  instances  where  the  former 
applied  the  intonaco,  or  painting-coat,  directly  to  the  wall,  without  the 
interposition  of  a preparatory  rough  coat  ( arriccio ) : of  course  such 
plaster  and  the  paintings  thereon  were  short-lived.  The  ancients  did 
not  economize  the  plasterer’s  labor,  and  as  a result  their  paintings 
have  stood  admirably.  If  we  may  judge  from  the  tone  of  Cennini’s 
book,  Giotto  and  his  followers  were  painstaking  and  lavish  of  labor. 
The  relative  soundness  of  their  work  corroborates  this  view.  More- 
over the  thinly-painted  frescos  have  generally  outlived  those  painted 
with  more  body.  In  some  instances  frescos  have  perished  because 
they  were  not  entirely  huon-fresco , but  a compound  of  fresco  and 
distemper.  .In  the  Loggie  of  the  Vatican,  Giovanni  da  Udine  (1494- 
1564),  pretended  to  imitate  the  plastering  of  the  ancients,  as  revealed 
by  the  frescos  in  the  recently-discovered  Baths  of  Titus;  but  his  fail- 


DURABILITY  OF  FRESCO. 


87 


ure  to  comply  with  all  their  laborious  conditions  compromised  his 
paintings.  Many  instances  of  sound  Renaissance  fresco  may  be  found 
at  Siena  : among  others  those  in  the  library  of  the  cathedral  by 
Pinturicchio  (1454-1513),  which  according  to  my  note-book  are 
“wonderfully  well-preserved.”  With  us,  apparently,  all  the  ingredi- 
ents of  plaster  are  equal,  perhaps  superior,  to  those  of  bygone  times, 
but  undue  haste  curtails  the  length  of  time  necessary  for  slaking  the 
lime,  and  economizes  the  care  and  labor  requisite  for  a stanch  wall 
surface.  The  more  one  consults  the  authorities  on  plaster  and  ce- 
ments, the  more  one  is  bewildered.  They  are  plethoric  with  sound 
advice  and  sound  combinations,  which  are  anything  but  sound  in 
practice,  why,  I am  not  prepared  to  say.  But  the  unpleasant  fact 
remains  that  our  plaster,  which  is  the  only  possible  ground  for 
fresco,  is  wretched.  It  seems  to  me  as  though  the  fresco  process 
might  be  improved,  were  some  competent  chemist  to  devote  himself 
to  the  problem.  I have  lately  made  a few  insufficient  experiments, 
in  the  hopes  of  elucidating  much  that  is  mysterious,  but  without  any 
trustworthy  results.  It  was  impossible  among  other  difficulties  to 
find  lime  that  had  been  slaked  a year.  There  is  a great  deal  to  be 
explained  about  the  nature  and  formation  of  the  crust,  the  causticity 
of  the  lime,  the  changes  it  undergoes  by  keeping,  etc.,  that  can  only 
be  explained  by  a chemist. 

I can  hardly  forgive  a well-known  and  usually  sympathetic  English 
writer  on  art  for  his  depressing  and  unappreciative  estimate  of 
fresco,  and  for  his  inadequate  review  of  mural  painting  in  general. 
“ Fresco,”  he  says,  “ ought  to  be  looked  upon  as  a slight  and  cheap 
art,  to  be  done  without  much  effort,  and  without  any  attempt  at  elab- 
orate finish.” 1 The  impressive,  beautiful  and  highly-finished  frescos 
of  Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo,  not  to  mention  others,  deemed  by 
many  the  grandest  works  of  art  ever  produced,  though  this  is  a mat- 
ter of  opinion,  sufficiently  refute  such  an  unfortunate  statement, 
which,  if  made  by  a less  reputable  personage,  would  be  suffered  to 
pass  unnoticed.2  Many  of  my  readers  are  doubtless  aware  of  the 


!Tbe  term  “finish”  should  not  he  confounded  with  elaboration.  The  best 
Italian  frescos  were  thoroughly  finished,  though  not  elaborate.  Elaboration  is 
possible  in  fresco,  but  it  is  not  wanted. 

2 To  illustrate  the  impressiveness  of  Michael  Angelo’s  frescos,  injured  as  they 
are  by  time  and  more  particularly  by  man,  I quote  a few  red-hot  notes,  jotted 
down  in  1878,  after  one  of  my  periodical  visits  to  the  Sistine  Chapel.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  apologize  for  their  informality.  “Capital  place  to  com- 
pare the  genius  of  Michael  Angelo  with  that  of  his  immediate  predecessors.  His 
vault  completely  kills  all  below  it;  and  the  longer  one  looks  the  more  the  kill- 
ing process  goes  on.  Indeed  I found  it  very  difficult  to  pay  any  attention  to  the 
Pre-Raphaelites.  Often  as  I go  to  the  chapel,  I am  always  captivated  by  some 
new  beauty.  To-day  by  the  delightful  tone  of  the  vault.  It  is  infinitely  more 
decorative  than  the  frescos  on  the  walls  by  the  precursors,  notwithstand- 


88 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


efforts  made  to  revive  mural  painting  in  England  about  1841.  The 
attempts  at  buon-fresco  were  failures.* 1  The  English  (delightful 
poets !)  have  always  been  singularly  deficient  in  those  masterly  tech- 
nical powers — the  birthright  of  the  Latin  races — which  are  essen- 
tial to  the  execution  of  imposing  mural  compositions ; though  here  and 
there  a foreign-trained  painter  may  have  proved  himself  an  exception 
to  the  rule.  Fresco  is  no  medium  for  the  feeble,  or  for  those  who  cul- 
tivate a certain  dilettanteism  of  execution.  It  exacts  a virile  and  spon- 
taneous handling,  and  experience  allied  with  consummate  skill.  It  is 
not  a tentative  or  hap-hazard  art,  if  the  cartoons  are  properly  pre- 
pared, and  provided  the  painter  knows  his  business.  Its  very  limita- 
tions are  in  a way  advantageous,  and  lend  strength  and  fire,  just  as 
the  limitations  imposed  by  time  and  weather  stimulate  the  sketcher  ; 
with  this  difference  in  favor  of  the  mural  painter,  that  his  drawing  and 
color  have  been  prepared  beforehand.  He  may  paint  much  or  little 
at  a sitting,  only  that  much  or  little  must  be  completed.  It  is  of 
course  a disadvantage  to  paint  piece-meal,  but  then  all  mural  paint- 
ing has  to  be  conducted  on  a piece-meal  basis,  though  less  than  in 
buon-fresco.  Because  there  may  be  a lack  of  practitioners,  it  would 
be  unjust  and  ill-advised  to  condemn  and  discard  a noble  art,  and 
that  not  a lost  one ; for  I have  seen  charming  frescos  in  Italy  exe- 
cuted by  contemporaries,  less  grand  in  conception  than  those  of  the 
Renaissance,  but  apparently  as  well  painted.  A great  deal  was  said 
and  written  at  the  time  about  the  unsuitability  of  fresco  to  “ British 


ing  their  profuse  use  of  gold.  To-day,  too,  I was  overcome  by  the  grand 
‘Creation  of  the  Sun  and  Moon,’  massive,  eternal  figures  moving  like  the 
whirlwind.  I noted  also  a fine,  pensive,  seated  female  figure  in  the  ‘ tlistory  of 
the  Virgin.’  The  Signorellis,  Botticellis,  etc.,  seem  like  pigmies  as  compared 
with  Buonarroti.  Yet  they  are  interesting.  The  serried  ranks  of  Ghirlandajo;  the 
stiff  and  clumsy  attempts  of  Botticelli  to  express  action,  the  glimmerings  of  the 
antique  in  Signorelli,  the  importance  of  space  recognized  by  Perugino,”  and  so 
on. 

Symonds  in  his  Renaissance  (1879),  most  sympathetically  apprehends  and 
describes  the  beauty,  nobility  and  poetry  of  this  inspired  vault.  “ There  i3  no 
luxury  of  decorative  art,  no  gold,  no  paint-box  of  vermilion  or  emerald  green, 
has  been  lavished  here.  Sombre  and  aerial,  like  shapes  condensed  from  vapor, 
or  dreams  begotten  by  Ixion  upon  mists  of  eve  or  dawn,  the  phantoms  evoked 
by  the  sculptor  throng  that  space.  . . . The  grace  of  coloring,  realized  in  some 
of  those  youthful  and  athletic  forms  is  such  as  no  copy  can  represent.  Every 
posture  of  beauty  and  of  strength,  simple  or  strained,  that  it  is  possible  for  men 
to  assume  has  been  depicted  here.  Yet  the  whole  is  governed  by  a strict  sense 
of  sobriety.  riho  restlessness  of  Correggio,  tbe  violent  attitudinizing  of  Tinto- 
retto, belong  alike  to  another  and  less  noble  spirit.  To  speak  adequately  of 
these  form-poems  would  be  quite  impossible.” 

1One  of  the  artists  who  “had  nearly  been  driven  mad  by  the  trouble  and  an- 
noyance which  the  old  system  of  fresco  caused  him,”  and  who  abandoned  it  for 
another  process,  in  a letter  addressed  to  Lord  Elcbo,  says  that  “ Fresco  may  do 
admirably  well  where  a slight  bravura  sort  of  art  is  required,  but  this  should  be 
the passe-lemps  for  those  whose  aim  is  very  moderate  and  whose  employers  are 
easily  satisfied.  Fresco  has  had  a fair  trial  here,  and  is  to  give  way  before  some- 
thing a thousand  times  better  in  every  way.”  [!!!] 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  FRESCO. 


89 


genius,”  and  to  British  climate.  The  truth  is  that  British  genius  was 
unsuited  to  buon-fresco.  Several  foreigners  have  since  executed 
successful,  and  thus  far,  durable  frescos  in  London.  The  esteem  in 
which  fresco  was  held  by  the  painters  of  the  fifteenth  century  may 


' Augustus  and  the  Sibyl,'  by  Baldassare  Peruzzi  [148  1-1536].  Ch.  of  Fonte  Giusta, 

Siena,  (fresco). 

be  gathered  from  the  recently-published  letter  of  Francesco  della 
Cossa  to  Francesco  Gonzaga. 

“ Much  honored  prince ; very  noble  lord.  ...  It  seemed  to  me 
strange  that  my  work  should  be  paid  at  the  same  rate  as  that  of  the 
others,  who  have  neither  spent  the  time  nor  the  money  that  I have. 
I tell  you  this,  my  lord,  because  I have  always  painted  in  fresco. 


90 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


which,  as  every  master  of  art  knows,  is  one  of  the  most  advantageous 
and  best  methods  of  working.  . . . 

“Your  noble  lordship’s  most  humble  servant,” 

“ Francesco  della  Cossa.  ” 1 

The  somewhat  restricted  palette  imposed  by  fresco  is  very  much 
in  its  favor,  and  yet  it  is  far  from  meagre,  as  has  been  already  shown. 
Its  light,  simple,  quiet  tones  are  eminently  adapted  to  mural  decora- 
tion, which  ought  not  to  affect  realistic  relief.  It  gives  a dead  sur- 
face, which  is  the  sine  qua  non  of  wall  pictures.  All  dark,  dead- 
colors  are  less  deep,  or  black,  than  the  same  colors  when  varnished. 
But  as  gloss  and  depth  of  tone  are  just  what  it  is  necessary  to  avoid 
in  mural  painting,  it  is  an  advantage  to  be  deprived  of  them.2 
Though  both  are  void  of  gloss,  there  is  a difference  of  tone  between 
fresco  and  distemper.  The  former  seems  lively  and  transparent 
when  compared  with  the  deadness  and  opacity  of  the  latter,  though 
by  no  means  thin.  On  a bit  of  plaster  before  me  there  is  some  yel- 
low ochre  applied  when  the  plaster  was  wet,  in  the  fresco  manner. 
By  the  side  of  it  is  more  of  the  same  pigment  applied  to  the  same 
plaster  when  dry.  The  difference  of  tone  between  the  two  is  consid- 
erable, the  former  being  yellower  and  brighter  than  the  latter.  More- 
over, “ alia  prima  ” methods  — final  methods  without  retouchings  — 
naturally  yield  fresher  and  franker  tones  than  more  laborious  methods, 
unless  the  painter  applies  the  latter  with  great  precision,  and  as 
nearly  “ alia  prima  ” as  possible. 

Fresco  may  be  employed  for  humbler  purposes  than  figure  composi- 
tions. There  is  probably  no  more  perishable  and  common  medium 
than  distemper  (“  kalsomine  ” is  the  high-sounding  name  now  in 
vogue).  Distemper,  as  used  by  the  ancient  and  mediaeval  painters 
for  their  wall  and  easel  pictures,  frequently  protected  by  a coat  of 
wax,  varnish  or  oil,  was  a very  different  thing  from  the  unprotected 
distemper  used  to-day  for  tinting  walls  or  ceilings,  and  too  frequently 
for  decorating  them.  As  the  colors  are  soluble  in  water,  it  is  ruined 
by  contact  with  moisture,  either  on  its  face  or  from  behind.  It  is 
liable  to  peel  if  applied  in  more  than  one  coat,  or  with  too  much 
size,  and  is  easily  defaced  by  friction.  A slight  abrasion  exposes  the 
underlying  plaster.  Altogether  it  is  “ poor  stuff.”  A plain  tone, 
ornamented,  if  desired,  with  a simple  pattern  that  would  not  require 
more  than  a day  for  its  transference  to  the  side  of  a room  or  space  to 


1 “Ferrara,  25  March,  1470.”  From  the  French  translation  in  the  Gazettedei 
Beaux  Arts,  December,  18-5. 

2 An  exception  to  this  rule  will  be  noted  in  chapter  X. 


DURABILITY  OF  FRESCO. 


91 


be  decorated,  might  be  applied  to  the  wet  plaster  without  the  neces- 
sity of  the  troublesome  joinings  demanded  by  elaborate  ornament. 
What  could  be  simpler?  Water  is  the  only  medium.  The  colors 
must  be  suitable  to  fresco,  and  these  are  the  cheapest  and  best. 
While  for  important  works  it  is  essential  to  keep  the  lime  for  at  least 
a year,  as  no  risk  should  be  incurred,  it  is  probable  that  a month,  or 
even  less,  would  suffice  for  inexpensive  flat  tones,  though  of  course 
the  longer  the  better.  Walls  tinted  in  this  way  would  be  more  pleas- 
ing and  durable  than  with  the  lifeless  “ kalsomine.”  They  would 
not,  perhaps,  bear  the  friction  of  oil-painted  walls,  but  would  be  less 
likely  to  change  color,  and  would,  moreover,  be  far  cheaper.  That 
the  required  tone  must  be  determined  before  the  plastering  is  fin- 
ished might  be  deemed  an  objection  ; though  to  some  people  any 
imaginative  brain-work  is  irksome.  A more  serious  difficult}'  would 
be  to  protect  the  frescoed  walls  from  the  subsequent  operations  of 
careless  workmen.  The  best  of  all  plans  for  tinting  plaster  walls  is 
to  mix  the  pigments  with  the  plaster  before  its  application,  which 
guarantees  the  colors  from  disfigurements  caused  by  blows  or  abra- 
sions. Very  deep  lines  cannot  be  obtained  in  this  way,  for  the 
plaster  with  which  the  pigments  are  to  be  mixed  must  be  regarded 
as  a white.  The  pattern,  of  any  color,  could  be  added  while  the 
plaster  is  still  wet.  It  is  not  possible  to  spread  a perfectly  flat. tone 
over  large  surfaces  in  this  way,  for  the  differences  in  handling  of  the 
several  workmen  cause  differences  in  tone,  though  all  use  the  same 
plaster.  As  walls  are  rarely  void  of  ornament,  either  fixed  or 
movable,  such  inequalities  would  not  be  objectionable.  But  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  make  the  average  house-painter  understand 
that  the  very  qualities  he  is  working  for  with  might  and  main  are 
precisely  those  that  are  most  offensive  to  the  artist,  and  one  of  these 
is  a dreary,  dead,  and  even  flatness. 

When  the  relative  merits  of  fresco  and  wax-painting  are  com- 
pared, the  present  state  of  things  must  be  taken  into  consideration. 
In  the  choice  of  a medium  the  painter  is  guided  by  actualities 
rather  than  by  potentialities.  If  for  very  cogent  reasons  he  is  forced 
rather  than  persuaded  into  the  use  of  the  wax  medium,  let  us  not  on 
that  account  slight  a noble  and  beautiful  method.  Without  expe- 
rience fresco  is  a most  difficult  process;  but  as  to  that,  all  pro- 
cesses are  difficult,  though  fresco  is  a little  more  so  than  the  others 
at  first.  A demand  for  frescos  would  certainly  create  the  supply. 
Any  painter  gifted  with  the  decorative  qualities  and  trained  to  mural 
woik  could  master  the  perplexities  of  fresco  in  a few  months.  What 


92 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


these  decorative  qualities  are  will  be  indicated  in  the  final  paper. 
However  skilful  a painter  may  be  in  other  departments,  unless  he  is 
gifted  with  them  by  nature,  and  has  developed  them  by  training,  he 
should  never  touch  the  wall.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  architects  — for, 
owing  to  its  nature,  the  initiative  must  be  taken  by  the  architects  — 
may  some  day  be  pleased  to  utilize  a process  so  thoroughly  archi- 
tectural as  fresco. 

There  are  obviously  many  places,  especially  in  completed  build- 
ings, where  the  nature  of  the  ground  would  preclude  the  use  of 
“ buon fresco”  unplastered  stone,  for  example,  cement,  wood,  or  any 
surface  where  the  use  of  plaster  might  not  be  desirable.  Ordinary 
lath  and  plaster,  unless  specially  prepared,  would  be  a poor  recipient 
for  fresco.  It  was  shown  in  Chaptor  IV,  that,  with  proper  precautions, 
wax-painting  might  be  applied  to  any  surface : to  stone,  by  first 
treating  it  to  a hydrofuge;  to  plaster,' by  saturating,  it  with  the 
medium.  Even  when  the  plaster  has  cracked,  or  is  disposed  to  crack, 
wax-painting  is  perfectly  safe,  if  canvas  be  applied  to  the  wall  in  the 
manner  already  described.  This  will  bridge  over  the  existing  cracks 
and  prevent  their  future  development  — always  provided  the  space 
to  be  decorated  is  not  very  large,  since  expense  might  otherwise  pre- 
clude its  use.  But  where  the  conditions  are  favorable,  and  expense  is 
not  an  object,  the  application  of  canvas  is  recommended  as  the  best 
and  safest  ground.  It  would  be  wearisome  to  recapitulate  the  dura- 
ble qualities  of  wax-painting.  They  have  been  fully  developed 
elsewhere.  Its  simplicity,  too,  has  been  proved.  In  certain  respects 
it  is  more  simple  than  fresco,  in  others,  less  so ; it  is  quite  as  simple 
as  oil,  and  a good  deal  simpler  than  “ spirit-fresco.”  Simplicity  is  of 
the  greatest  importance  to  the  painter,  whose  means  of  expression 
should  be  facile  if  he  ever  hopes  to  be  eloquent.  In  common  with 
fresco,  wax-painting  has  light,  airy  tones,  and  a dead  surface.  It 
may  be  applied  semi-transparently,  or  with  the  impasto  of  oil-paint- 
ing, which  it  resembles  in  technique,  though  free  from  its  decorative 
defects.  If  has  none  of  the  lifelessness  or  opacity  of  distemper. 
As  any  color  may  be  mixed  with  the  wax  medium  its  palette  is  very 
extended.  It  has  this  advantage  over  fresco,  that  the  first  painting 
is  not  necessarily  a final  operation.  While  it  may  be  used  cilia  prima 

— and  the  more  so  the  better,  seeing  that  alia  prima  handling  has 
great  merits,  and  that  repaintings  are  liable  to  engender  slovenliness 

— it  may  also  be  retouched  indefinitely,  without  injury  to  its  quality 
or  durability,  as  in  buon  fresco,  or  without  fear  of  cracks,  as  in  oil. 
Apparently,  wax-painting  is  the  most  durable  of  all  pictorial  mural 
processes. 


DURABILITY  OF  FRESCO. 


93 


FRESCO-SECCO. 

The  following  garbled  extract  from  Sarsfield  Taylor  will  ade- 
quately describe  this  offshoot  from  buon  fresco:  “After  the  general 
plastering  of  the  wall  intended  for  this  process  has  been  finished, 
and  a superior  coat  of  pure  lime  and  sand  has  been  laid  over  the 
surface,  the  whole  is  then  allowed  to  dry  thoroughly.  When  this 
wall  is  found  to  be  in  a perfectly  dry  state,  the  surface,  so  far  as  may 
be  required,  is  rubbed  with  pumice-stone,  and  late  on  the  day  previ- 
ous to  that  on  which  the  painting  is  to  be  commenced  the  plaster 
must  be  carefully  washed  with  water  into  which  a small  portion  of 
lime  has  been  infused  ; next  morning  the  wall  must  again  be  washed. 
After  this  is  completed  the  cartoon  is  fastened  up,  and  the  outline 
being  pounced,  the  artist  commences  his  work.  The  colors  used  in 
this  method  are  similar  to  those  employed  in  true  fresco  ; they  are 
mixed  in  the  same  way  with  water,  and  the  white  pigment  is  lime.” 

“ If,  as  the  operation  goes  on,  the  wall  should  become  too  dry,  a 
syringe,  pierced  with  many  fine  holes,  is  used  to  moisten  it.  Paint- 
ing done  in  this  way  will  bear  washing  as  well  as  real  fresco,  and  is 
equally  durable.  As  regards  mere  matters  of  ornament,  it  is  a more 
certain  and  ready  mode  of  working  than  solid  fresco ; for,  owing  to 
the  complicated  forms  of  ornaments,  it  is  impossible,  in  the  latter 
art,  to  make  the  joinings  at  the  proper  outlines ; therefore,  merely 
decorated  walls  in  fresco  never  are  satisfactory  to  the  eye  of  taste, 
and  this  defect  is  very  evident  in  the  Loggia  of  the  Vatican.  Another 
great  advantage  fresco-secco  has  over  fresco-buono  is,  that  the  former 
may  be  quitted  and  taken  up  again  at  any  point.  We  have  now 
shown  all  its  advantages.  On  the  other  hand  we  are  bound  to  say 
that,  except  where  merely  ornamental  painting  is  concerned,  it  is  in 
every  other  respect  a very  inferior  art  to  real  fresco  ; for  paintings 
in  secco  are  always  opaque  and  heavy  in  their  character,  differing 
quite  in  this  essential  point  from  true  fresco,  which  is  lightsome,  and 
has  much  clearness  of  tone,  often  a fine  transparency.  Fresco-secco , 
therefore,  cannot  be  placed  in  the  same  elevated  ranks  as  fresco-buono ; 
indeed,  with  few  exceptions,  it  has  always  been  in  the  hands  of  infe- 
rior masters  of  the  later  Italian  schools,  and  none  of  the  works  of 
these  men  in  this  style  have  any  high  reputation.  There  appears, 
however,  to  be  an  important  difference  in  the  durability  of  the  Ger- 
man fresco-secco  and  the  Italian  of  the  present  day  ; the  former  will 
bear  washing,  the  Italian  fresco-secco  of  the  present  time  will  wash 
out.  both  of  which  useful  facts  Professor  Wilson  ascertained  at 
Munich  and  Genoa.” 


94 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


Having  liad  no  personal  experience  with  fresco-secco,  I give  the 
above  for  what  it  is  worth,  though  much  of  it  is  incomprehensible. 

It  seems  too  good  to  be  true.  I have  made  several  experiments  in 
my  studio  with  fresco-secco , following  the  above  directions,  but  with- 
out the  given  results.  In  every  case  the  color  thus  applied  was 
washed  off  by  rubbing  it  with  a bristle  brush  filled  with  water,  though 
it  adhered  far  more  tenaciously  than  the  same  color  dissolved  in  pure 
water  and  applied  to  dry  plaster.  It  seems  impossible  that  fresco- 
secco  should  resist  water  as  effectively  as  buon  fresco.  The  latter  is 
protected  by  a thin  but  strong  crust  of  carbonate  of  lime,  the  pro- 
duct of  the  wet  plaster  (sand  and  hydrate  of  lime)  and  the  air, 
while  the  former  would  only  be  protected  by  the  very  feeble  crust 
of  carbonate  of  lime  formed  by  the  air  and  the  weak  infusion  of 
lime-water  with  which  the  dry  plaster  (sand  and  carbonate  of  lime) 
has  been  soaked.  The  color  might  be  more  deeply  imbibed  by 
plaster  that  has  been  saturated  with  water  than  by  dry  plaster,  but 
its  surface  would  be  none  the  less  soluble  in  water.  As  to  the  “ im- 
possibility ” of  adapting  buon  fresco  to  the  “ complicated  forms  of 
ornament  ” I can  merely  say  that  I have  seen  very  elaborate  orna- 
ment executed  in  this  manner.  Though  fresco-secco  is  in  every  way 
inferior  to  real  fresco,  it  might  profitably  be  used  for  ornament 
instead  of  tempera,  especially  on  ceilings  and  in  places  that  are  not 
exposed  to  friction.  No  process  could  be  simpler  or  cheaper. 


CHAPTER  X, 


OIL-PAINTING. 


From  a Drawing  by  Titian. 


0IL  painting  is  too 
well  known  and  wide- 
ly practised  to  call  for 
any  technical  description. 
The  object  of  these  chap- 
ters has  been  to  consider 
the  adaptability  of  the 
different  processes  to  mu- 
ral painting,  rather  than 
to  describe  their  tech- 
nics. If  unfamiliarity 
with  some  of  them  has 
necessitated  a detailed 
technical  exposition,  it 
has  been  made  with  a 
view  to  estimate  their 
decorative  capabilities. 
From  divers  allusions 
dropped  here  and  there 
the  preceding  papers 
must  have  been  in- 
ferred that  oil  is  not  a 
suitable  vehicle  for  mural 


paintings.  In  order  to  understand  why  not,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
make  a few  trite  chemical  statements. 

Oil  is  composed  of  an  oil  acid  linked  with  glycerine  ether;  from  it 
both  glycerine  and  soap  can  be  made. 

Soap  is  a compound  of  an  oil  acid  linked  with  alkalies  or  oxides,  as 
potash,  soda,  lead,  zinc,  iron,  lime,  etc.  In  making,  the  glycerine  ether 
of  the  oil,  with  which  the  alkali  or  oxide  is  mixed,  is  set  free.  Some 
soaps,  such  as  toilet  soaps,  arc  soluble  in  water  — castile  soap,  for  in- 
stance, which  is  made  from  olive  oil  and  soda.  Other  soaps  are  insolu 


96 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


ble,  such  as  lead,  zinc,  or  iron  soaps,  which  include  the  pigments 
made  by  the  chemical  union  of  white  lead,  zinc,  or  iron  oxides  with 
linseed  oil.  Pigments  are  said  to  be  more  or  less  durable  according  to 
their  soap-making  powers  in  combination  with  linseed  oil.  Both  red 
lead  and  white  lead  are  strong  soap-makers ; zinc  white,  iron-ore 
paint,  umber,  yellow  ochre  and  others  are  less  so;  while  such  colors 
as  ivory  black,  vermilion,  madder  lake,  Prussian  blue,  etc.,  do  not 
combine  chemically  at  all  with  linseed  oil,  or,  in  other  words,  they 
are  not  soap-makers. 

Those  pigments  that  have  the  strongest  chemical  affinity  for  lin- 
seed oil  — the  strongest  soap-makers  — dry  and  harden  the  most  rap- 
idly ; those  that  have  but  a feeble  affinity  for  it,  or  none  at  all,  must 
be  mixed  with  a drier  — such  as  manganese  or  litharge  — which  has 
a strong  affinity  for  it.  While  it  seems  to  be  certain  that  soap-making, 
either  by  the  pigment  itself  with  linseed  oil,  or  by  means  of  a drier, 
improves  the  solidity  and  durability  of  paint  — unless  it  be  rendered 
brittle  by  an  excess  of  the  drier  — it  is  equally  certain  that  all  soap- 
making has  a tendency  to  redden  or  yellow.  Condit  says  of  white 
lead  that  “it  is  a paint  and  not  a whitewash  only,  because  about  one- 
fourth  of  the  lead  unites  with  the  oil  to  form  a soap  . . . but  it  has 
such  a tendency  to  redden  that  white  lead  made  by  a process  (one  of 
Gruneburg’s  processes)  producing  a large  quantity  of  this  part  of  white 
lead  which  unites  with  the  oil  would  turn  yellow  in  an  hour  after  mix- 
ture as  a paint.”  In  another  place  he  says : “ Strong  soaps  have 
more  tendency  to  redden  than  weak  soaps,  when  simply  exposed  to 
the  air.  . . . It  is  plain  why  lead  changes  Color  more  than  zinc— it  con- 
tains more  soap.  Again,  it  is  plain  that  boiled  oil  [with  driers],  which 
contains  much  oxy-linseed-oil-acid  and  much  soap,  will  darken  sooner 
and  more  completely  than  raw  oil.  To  avoid  change  of  color  we 
must  avoid  that  which  most  quickly  dries  and  hardens  the  paint 
— soap.  Even  manganese  driers  with  zinc  white  will  yellow  the 
paint.  It  is  important,  therefore,  for  all  these  reasons,  to  use  as 
little  oil  as  possible  in  interior  house-painting  with  white  colors.”  It 
is  also  important  to  use  zinc  white  rather  than  white  lead  for  inside 
work.  The  cure  for  this  change  of  color  is  sunlight. 

It  has  already  been  shown,  in  the  chapter  on  buon  fresco , that 
caustic  lime  forbids  the  use  of  many  colors  that  are  frequently  used 
in  oil  painting.  Caustic  lime,  moreover,  combines  with  oil  to  make  a 
soap.  For  these  reasons  oil  painting  cannot  be  used  on  fresh  plas- 
ter. But  even  when  the  piaster  is  thoroughly  dry,  the  walls  should 
first  be  protected  with  several  coats  of  oil  paint,  if  they  are  to  re- 


Ceiling  in  Church  of  S.  Maria  del  Rosario,  Venice  (Fresco)  by  Tiepolo, 
(Giovanni  Battista,  1697-1770) 


OIL-PAINTING 


97 


ceive  oil  pictures;  for  even  dry  plaster  (carbonate  of  lime,  or  chalk, 
and  sand)  changes  some  pigments,  especially  if  the  latter  are  exposed 
to  dampness,  which  is  almost  inevitable.  “ All  organic  colors  may  be 
affected.  Chalk  in  white  lead  or  zinc  white  easily  produces  a yellow- 
ish white  when  mixed  with  oil.  In  addition  to  these  changes,  oil  is 
saponified  by  wet  chalk,  which  quickly  becomes  yellowish  in  the  ab- 
sence of  sunlight.  All  oil-painted  walls  change  color,  and  picture- 
frames  hung  on  wet  walls  leave  their  photographs  in  reddish-yel- 
low.”1 It  is  very  obvious,  then,  that  mural  paintings  in  oil  must 
never  come  in  contact  with  plastered  walls,  but  should  either  rest  on 
several  intervening  coats  of  oil  paint,  or,  better  still,  on  a canvas 
ground  fastened  to  the  wall  by  the  white  lead  process. 

The  yellowing  of  oil  is  not  caused  by  soap-making  alone  ; it  is  also 
caused  by  want  of  sunlight.  The  less  light  there  is,  the  yellower 
and  darker  oil-mixed  pigments  grow  with  time.  Every  artist  must 
have  noticed  how  oil  sketches  yellow  or  darken  in  a portfolio.  As 
usual  the  cure  is  sunlight.  Here  are  one  or  two  corroborative  ex- 
tracts by  Condit.  Dr.  Liebreich  says  that  “ the  oil  should  in  all 
colors  be  reduced  to  a minimum,  and  under  no  form  should  more  of 
it  be  introduced  into  a picture  than  absolutely  necessary.”  “ The 
changes  in  white  lead  and  linseed  oil  are  rapid  and  inevitable.  A 
foul,  tawny  yellow  quickly  overspreads  the  work,  utterly  destructive 
of  delicacy  and  freshness.”  ( Quarterly  Review .) 

Certain  pigments  common  in  oil-painting,  such  as  white  lead,  chrome 
and  Naples  yellow,  etc.,  are  liable  to  be  blackened  by  sulphuretted- 
hydrogen  gas,  white  lead  in  particular.  As  many  inaccurate  ideas  are 
apparently  entertained  as  to  the  influence  of  sulphur  gases  on  pig- 
ments, it  will  be  well  to  state  the  case  accurately.  Sulphuretted  hydro- 
gen is  the  product  of  sewage,  or  of  animal  and  vegetable  decomposition, 
A stream  of  this  gas  turned  on  dry  white-lead  paint  will  change  it  to  a 
deep  umber.2  Professor  Norton  says  that  the  “ white  lead  blackened 
by  sulphuretted  hydrogen  will  bleach  by  the  action  of  sunlight  easily, 
until  the  oil  has  become  perfectly  hard,  a process  which  takes  several 
weeks.  After  the  hardening  this  bleaching  action  is  slow,  but  it  is 
probable  that  it  always  continues  to  a greater  or  less  extent.  It  is 
thought  to  be  due  to  the  ozone  in  the  air.”  Fresh  paint  blackened 
by  sulphuretted  hydrogen  bleaches  rapidly,  even  in  diffused  daylight. 


1 Painting  and  Painters'  Materials.  Charles  L.  Condit  and  Jacob  Scheller : 
, New  York,  1883.  An  excellent,  practical  book,  which  treats  at  length  of  var- 
nishes, oils  and  pigments,  and  their  reciprocal  relations. 

2It  was  shown  in  chapter  V,  that  the  same  stream  turned  on  oil-white  lead 
mixed  with  the  wax  medium  had  no  blackening  influence. 


98 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


One  naturally  asks,  “ How  much  danger  from  blackening  by  this  gas 
do  paintings  undergo?”  Perhaps  less  than  pessimists  imagine.  The 
white-lead  paint  of  whole  neighborhoods  has  been  blackened  by  sew- 
age gas.  It  has  also  been  blackened  to  a considerable  extent  in  cer- 


Sala  del  Collegio,  Ducal  Palace,  Venice. 

tain  manufacturing  districts.  Bath-rooms,  too,  have  suffered  in  this 
respect.  There  would,  however,  be  no  great  danger  from  it  in  well- 
drained  houses.  It  must  be  present  in  very  appreciable  quantities  to 
blacken  paint.  Much  that  is  erroneous  has  been  written  about  the 
discoloration  of  pigments  by  the  chemical  action  of  certain  gases,  the 
product  of  burning  illuminating-gas.  These  are  sulphurous  and  sul- 
phuric acid  gases  — the  latter  containing  more  oxygen.  But  neither 
blackens  lead,  though  they  both  attack  bronze.1  Sulphuretted  hydro- 
gen in  very  small  quantities  escapes  combustion,  but  hardly  enough  of 


JIn  answer  to  a question.  Prof.  Norton  writes  that  “Gold  would  not  be 
affected  by  the  acids.  I have  heard  it  said  that  it  tarnishes  after  a term  of 
years  in  such  a position  [over  a gas-light].  The  side  of  the  State-House  [Boston] 
dome  next  the  chimney  is  tarnished,  as  probably  you  are  aware.  Exactly  why- 
gold  tarnishes  in  such  a position  I am  unable  to  say.  Probably  from  some  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen  present  in  the  gas  which  escapes  the  combustion.” 

With  regard  to  the  moisture  generated  by  the  combustion  of  illuminating 


OIL-PAINTING. 


99 


it  to  blacken  the  pigments.  What  does  very  sensibly  blacken  pigments 
over  a gas-jet  is  the  carbon  of  the  smoke,  as  every  one  must  have 
observed.  If  the  colors  are  thoroughly  dry,  the  carbon  can  easily  be 
removed : if  not,  it  adheres  tenaciously.  Probably  the  heat  of  the 
gas  often  softens  pigments  mixed  with  oils  or  resins,  thus  affording 
the  carbon  a secure  lodgment.  There  is  also  sulphurous  acid  and 
sulphuric  acid  in  all  cliimney-smoke,  and  very  probably  a little  un- 
consumed  sulphuretted  hydrogen.  But  it  is  the  latter  that  blackens. 
The  paintings  by  Baudry,  in  the  foyer  of  the  Opera  at  Paris  were 
covered  with  a layer  of  carbon  a few  months  after  the  opening  of  the 
building.  It  was  feared  that  they  were  seriously  compromised. 
Recently  the  gas  has  been  replaced  by  electricity,  the  pictures  have 
been  cleaned,  and,  if  we  may  credit  the  rather  unscientific  accounts, 
they  are  as  fresh  as  when  first  painted.  The  discoloration  of  lead 
pigments  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen  can,  to  a certain  extent,  be  re- 
moved by  the  action  of  oxidizing  agents,  such  as  hydrogen  peroxide, 
which,  acting  on  the  lead  sulphide  (black),  converts  it  into  (white)  lead 
sulphate.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  white  lead  should  be  replaced 
whenever  it  is  possible  — and  certainly  for  the  finishing  coats  — by 
zinc  white,  which  “is  the  only  perfect  white  color,”  not  being 
affected  by  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  nor  yellowing,  to  any  great  ex- 
tent, the  oil  with  which  it  is  mixed. 

I have  endeavored  to  show,  as  concisely  as  possible,  why  it  is  that 
oil  paintings  darken  with  age.  Any  one,  probably,  by  a slight  effort 
of  the  memory  can  corroborate  this  fact.  I never  remember  to 
have  seen  an  old  oil  picture  that  had  not  grown  dark.  Under  cer- 
tain circumstances,  of  an  exceptional  nature,  which  will  be  noted 
later,  a slight  darkening,  or  rather  mellowing,  may  not  be  objection- 
able; on  the  contrary,  it  may  even  be  advantageous;  but  where  a 
light,  decorative  effect  is  intended,  and  especially  when  the  surround- 
ing tones  are  white  or  delicate  in  color,  and  have  not  proportionately 
mellowed,  the  effect  is  very  discordant.  Not  unfrequently  oil  paint- 
ings are  inserted  in  the  panels  of  a room  — a salon  or  boudoir,  for 
instance,  treated  in  white  and  gold.  Within  a very  short  time,  per- 
haps at  the  outset,  they  will  seem  dark  and  heavy,  as  compared  with 
the  gleaming  white  (usually  zinc  white,  turpentine,  and  just  enough  oil 
to  bind  it)  of  the  woodwork.  Sometimes  this  is  repainted  after  a 
lapse  of  years,  while  the  pictures,  of  course,  remain  untouched,  and 

gas,  and  its  possible  injury  to  mural  paintings,  he  says:  “When  gas  is  burned, 
all  t he  hydrogen  in  the  gas,  both  free  and  combined  with  carbon,  is  turned  to 
water.  A very  considerable  amount  of  water  would  thus  be  formed.  If  the 
room  were  suddenly  cooled,  moisture  might  gather  on  the  walls  to  a slight 
extent.  On  the  other  hand,  the  burning  of  gas  always  raises  the  temperature.” 


100 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


this  operation  may  be  repeated,  till  the  pictures  look  like  black  spots 
in  comparison.  In  rooms  of  this  description  either  the  same  mellow- 
ing ingredients  should  be  used  for  the  woodwork  that  are  used  in  the 
oil  pictures  — which  would  annul  the  desired  effect  — or  the  paintings 


should  be  pitched  in  a whiter  key  than  is  possible  in  oils  as  usually  pre- 
pared, i.  e.  the  oil  should  be  largely  replaced  by  turpentine  or  another 
medium  used.  But  whatever  may  be  thought  about  the  darkening  of 
decorative  canvases  or  panels  painted  in  oils,  there  can  be  no  doubt 


OIL-PAINTING. 


101 


about  the  darkening  of  oil  pictures  painted  on  plaster ; it  is  both  swift 
and  sure.  There  is  great  doubt,  in  my  opinion,  whether  even  a heavy 
priming  of  the  plaster  with  several  coats  of  oil-paint  would  eventually 
protect  the  pictures  from  the  action  of  the  lime,  not  to  mention  other 
darkening  influences.  To  cite  a deplorable  example  of  a prematurely 
and  utterly  ruined  oil  painting  on  a plaster-wall,  I have  only  to  name 
the  ‘Last  Supper’  (1498),  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci.  “Ignoring  the  old 
method  of  fresco-painting,”  says  J.  P.  Richter,  “ Leonardo  mixed  his 
colors  with  oil  — a fatal  innovation,  as  it  proved.  Donato  Montor- 
fano’s  fresco  of  the  ‘Crucifixion,’  painted  in  1495,  which  faces  the 
‘ Last  Supper  ’ in  the  same  refectory,  is  to  this  day  in  an  excellent 
state  of  preservation,  while  Leonardo’s  production  in  its  shattered 
condition  is  a melancholy  proof  of  the  falsity  of  his  theory.  Already 
his  pupil  Lomazzo,  in  his  ‘ Trattato  della  Pittura ,’  says  of  it,  lLa  pittura 
e rovinata  tutta  [the  painting  is  entirely  ruined].  In  the  course  of 
a few  centuries  it  has  been  repainted  no  less  than  three  times.” 
Murray,  in  his  Northern  Italy , gives  some  interesting  information 
concerning  the  causes  that  led  to  the  decay  of  this  celebrated  paint- 
ing. As  all  the  conditions  attending  the  production  of  a decayed 
mural  painting  are  of  great  import  to  the  decorator  — for  they  are 
his  warning  beacon-lights  — and  as  this  particular  painting  is  world- 
renowned,  it  will  be  well  to  make  one  or  two  pregnant  quotations  : 
“ Leonardo  employed  sixteen  years  upon  the  work ; but  he  used  a 
new  process,  which  proved  its  ruin.  The  ground  is  plaster  impreg- 
nated with  mastic  or  pitch,  melted  in  by  means  of  a hot  iron. 
This  ground  he  covered  with  a species  of  priming,  composed  of  a 
mixture  of  white  lead  and  some  earthy  colors,  which  took  a fine 
polish,  but  from  which  the  oil-color  flaked  off.  The  materials  with 
which  the  wall  was  built  are  of  a very  bad  quality,  rendering  it  sus- 
ceptible of  injury  from  damp.  As  early  as  1500  the  refectory  seems 
to  have  been  flooded,  owing  to  its  low  situation.  The  vicinity  of  the 
kitchen  smoked  the  painting,  which  exhibited  early  symptoms  of 
decay.  . . . Scanelli,  who  saw  it  in  1642,  speaking  hyperbolicall}', 
observed  that  it  was  then  difficult  to  discover  the  subject.  ...  In 
1800,  owing  to  the  drain  being  blocked  up,  and  the  rain  falling  for 
fifteen  days,  the  refectory  was  flooded  to  a considerable  depth.  The 
late  Professor  Phillips,  R.  A.,  in  1825,  examined  its  condition  with 
careful  and  minute  attention,  and  could  with  difficulty  find  a portion 
of  its  original  surface.  . . . Till  this  time  all  paintings  on  walls 
had  been  wrought  in  fresco;  but  oil  painting,  which  had  become 
known  and  practised  in  smaller  works,  better  suited  da  Vinci’s  mode 


102 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


of  proceeding,  as  it  admits  of  retouching.1  ...  It  would  appear  tliai 
the  vehicle  which  he  employed,  whatever  it  was,  had  no  union  with 
the  ground,  and,  therefore,  the  surface  cracked.  At  the  opposite 
end  of  the  refectory  is  a very  large  and  well-preserved  fresco  of 
the  ‘Crucifixion,’  by  Montorfano.  . . . The  good  condition  of  this 
painting  causes  one  the  more  to  regret  that  Leonardo  did  not  employ 
fresco.  His  error  is  very  curiously  exemplified  on  this  same  wall. 
You  see  two  white  spaces  in  the  corners.  Here  Leonardo  painted  in 
oil  the  portraits  of  the  donors  of  the  Cenacolo,  but  only  a trace  of 
the  figures  can  be  discerned.”  Scaling  is  the  disease  to  which  the 
disappearance  of  all  these  paintings  by  Leonardo  in  the  refectory 
must,  in  the  main,  be  attributed. 

Every  student  of  the  Vatican  Stanze  knows  that  two  of  the 
allegorical  figures  in  the  Hall  of  Constantine — ‘Justitia’  and 
‘Mansuetudo’  — were  executed  in  oil  by  Giulio  Romano  and  Fran- 
cesco Penni,  from  the  cartoons  of  Raphael,  and  under  his  supervision. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  say  with  authority  why  this  experiment  was 
made : one  can  only  surmise.  Shortly  after  the  death  of  Raphael, 
the  frescos  in  the  stanza  of  Heliodorus  had  so  deteriorated  in  places 
that  they  were  clumsily  retouched  by  Sebastian  del  Piombo.  (This 
deterioration  could  not  have  continued,  for  to-day  they  are  in  a 
fair  state  of  preservation.)  Possibly  they  exhibited  symptoms  of 
decay  in  the  life-time  of  Raphael,  who  may  have  wished  to  sub- 
stitute for  fresco  an  apparently  more  durable  process.  It  is  not 
improbable  that  he  was  incited  to  the  change  by  Sebastian  del 
Piombo,  who  seems  to  have  been  a gossip,  mischief-maker,  and  — if  I 
may  use  so  unclassical  a word  — a “blower.”  This  Venetian  artist 
had  established  a reputation  as  a colorist  in  Rome,  and  his  deficien- 
cies in  design  were  supplemented  by  Michael  Angelo’s  pencil.  He 
had  executed  several  mural  paintings  in  oil,  and,  with  his  accustomed 
brag,  had  doubtless  vaunted  their  superior  force  and  richness.  (Lanzi 
says  of  his  ‘ Flagellation,’  painted  in  oils  on  stone  in  the  Church  of 
S.  Pietro  in  Montorio,  that  it  is  “ as  much  blackened  by  time,  as  the 
frescos  which  he  executed  in  the  same  church  are  well-preserved.”) 


1 “ He  would  often  come  to  the  convent  at  early  dawn;  and  this  I have  seen 
him  do  myself.  Hastily  mounting  the  scaffolding,  he  worked  diligently  until 
the  shades  of  evening  compelled  him  to  cease,  never  thinking  to  take  food  at 
all,  so  absorbed  was  he  in  his  work.  At  other  times  he  would  remain  there 
three  or  four  days  without  touching  his  picture,  only  coming  for  a few  hours  to 
remain  before  it,  with  folded  arms,  gazing  at  his  figures  as  if  to  criticize  them 
himself.  At  mid-day,  too,  when  the  glare  of  a sun  at  its  zenith  has  made  bar- 
ren all  the  streets  of  Milan,  i have  seen  him  hasten  from  the  citadel,  where  he 
was  modelling  his  colossal  horse,  without  seeking  the  shade,  by  the  shortest 
way  to  the  convent,  where  he  would  add  a touch  or  two  and  immediately 
return.”  Bandello  ; from  Richter’s  Leonardo. 


OIL-PAINTING. 


103 


That  he  was  the  champion  of  oil  painting  for  walls,  is  evident  from 
his  letter  to  Michael  Angelo  concerning  the  decorations  in  the  Hall  of 
Constantine,  undertaken  by  the  pupils  of  Raphael  just  after  his  death. 
He  writes  (pretending  to  quote  Cardinal  Bibbiena)  “ that  they  had  ex- 
ecuted a specimen  of  a figure  in  oil  on  the  wall,  which  was  a beautiful 
work  of  art,  so  much  so  that  no  one  would  now  look  at  the  rooms  painted 
[in  fresco]  by  Raphael,  that  this  hall  would  excel  the  others,  and  would 
be  the  finest  work  executed  in  painting  since  the  time  of  the  ancients.”1 
The  adoption  of  his  favorite  process  by  the  disciples  of  Raphael 
makes  “him,  for  the  moment,  fair  to  them,  and  he  relates  their 
success  in  glowing  terms.”  If  such  talk  temporarily  influenced 
Raphael  and  his  followers,  it  was  but  for  a short  time.  Penni  and 
Romano  soon  saw  that  what  was  gained  in  strength  by  the  use  of  oil, 
was  more  than  offset  by  the  loss  of  decorative  effect.  The  experi- 
ment was  confined  to  the  two  figures  before  mentioned,  which  were 
suffered  to  remain.  With  this  exception  the  hall  was  completed  in 
buon  fresco.  Tt  was  not  then  known  that  mural  oil  paintings 
would  blacken  with  time.  These  figures  are  now  much  darker  than 
the  others,  and  less  sound.  The  lower  part,  in  particular,  of  the 
‘ Mansuetudo  ’ has  badly  cracked,  and  shows  signs  of  scaling,  while  no 
such  signs  are  evident  on  the  companion  figures  executed  in  buon 
fresco , which  are  still  fresh  and  far  more  decorative.  Michael 
Angelo’s  exaggerated  and  explosive,  though  not  improbable,  retort  to 
those  who  urged  him  to  paint  the  ‘Last  Judgment’  in  oils,  instead 
of  in  fresco,  “that  oil  painting  was  an  occupation  fit  only  for  women 
and  idlers,”  undoubtedly  meant  that  he  did  not  deem  oil  a suitable 
medium  for  mural  decoration  — for  he  knew  how  to  paint  in  oils. 
Didron  says  that  the  modern  Byzantines  almost  never  use  oils  for 
mural  decoration,  because  they  hold  them  to  be  less  durable  than 
colors  applied  a fresco.  The  use  of  oils  has  certainly  been  known 
to  them  as  far  back  as  the  days  of  Panselinos,  for  Denys,  his  fol- 
lower, gives  a receipt  for  painting  oil  pictures  on  linen.  Notwith- 
standing this  knowledge,  fresco  has  ever  been  their  means  of  deco- 
rative expression  on  the  wall.2 * * 


1 Wilson,  from  the  Buonarroti  Archive5*. 

2 “ Because,”  said  Father  Joasaph,  “ to  paint  in  oils  it  would  be  necessary  to 

wait  till  the  plaster  is  dry,  and,  as  the  color  would  not  [then]  penetrate  the  plas- 
ter, it  would  be  less  solid.”  This  explanation  — as  rendered  by  Didron  — is  not 
altogether  satisfactory.  Possibly  the  crust  of  carbonate  of  lime,  that  forms  on 
plaster,  might  prevent  the  penetration  of  the  colors.  If  this  were  removed  by 
scraping,  the  ground  would  be  too  absorbent  — unless  it  were  thoroughly  satu- 

rated with  oil,  or  an  equivalent,  an  operation,  perhaps,  requiring  more  time  and 

money  than  the  Athonites  could  afford  — and  the  colors,  deprived  of  the  oil 
that  binds  them,  flake  off,  or  fall  off  in  powder. 


104 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


Modern  mural  painters  are  prone  to  work  in  oil  — and  by  oil  is 
meant  linseed  oil  or  a like  substitute,  not  an  essential  or  volatile  oil, 
such  as  oil  of  spike-lavender  or  spirits  of  turpentine  — because  it  is 
a familiar  medium.  Mural  painting  is  the  exception  ; the  easel  pic- 
ture the  rule ; therefore  our  painters  are  more  “ at  home  ” with  the 
technics  of  the  latter,  which,  if  large,  is  almost  invariably  painted 
in  oil.  In  the  sixteenth  century  it  was  not  so;  every  man  of  note 
painted  on  the  wall,  and,  though  there  was  no  lack  of  oil-easel-pictures, 
these,  in  many  respects,  were  mural  paintings  on  a small  scale,  hav- 


From  a drawing  by  Puvis  de  Chavannes.  4 Pro  Patria  Ludus.*  (Mural  Composition.) 

ing  all  the  grandeur  of  monumental  compositions.  The  'Vision  of 
Ezekiel,’  by  Raphael,  to  mention  a well-known  example,  might  be 
reproduced  on  a colossal  scale,  without  necessitating  any  technical 
changes.  The  stately  Italians  of  that  epoch  could  not,  or  would  not 
be  informal.  Their  forms  are  chosen  and  simplified.  Literal 
nature,  as  we  understand  it,  had  no  charm  for  them.  Selection, 
idealization,  elimination  (decorative  necessities)  were  the  canons  of 
their  art.  Our  art,  on  the  contrary,  is  more  picturesque  and  intimate, 
and,  at  times,  tends  to  be  photographic.  When  our  painters  are 
called  upon  to  execute  monumental  works,  though  they  may  have 


OIL-PAINTING. 


105 


the  good  sense  to  modify  their  style  to  suit  the  exigencies  of  the 
work  in  hand,  they  naturally  find  it  difficult  and  irksome  to  emanci- 
pate themselves  from  their  every-day  methods  ; and  if,  by  a vigorous 
effort,  they  do  manage  to  change  both  style  and  method,  they  are 
not  unapt  to  run  into  an  opposite  extreme,  by  producing  paintings 
of  an  archaic  rudeness  and  simplicity.  So  it  happens  that  they  gen- 
erally find  it  more  convenient  to  paint  in  oils,  sometimes  on  the  wall 
itself,  sometimes  on  a canvas,  to  be  attached  to  the  wall  afterwards. 
That  it  is  better  to  paint  directly  on  the  wall  itself,  has  already  been 
shown.  At  times  one  is  inclined  to  think  that  the  vanity  of  exhibiting 
the  work  before  it  is  placed  in  situ , has  enough  influence  with  the  artist 
to  induce  him  to  execute  it  in  the  studio.  There  is  one  thing  to  be 
said  in  favor  of  executing  studio-painted  wall-decorations  in  oils,  and 
that  is,  oil  is  more  elastic  than  the  other  media,  and  colors  mixed 
with  it  are  less  likely  to  crack  and  scale  when  the  canvas  is  rolled 
for  transportation.  The  best  contemporary  mural  painters,  when 
they  use  oil,  reduce  it  to  a minimum,  and  deaden  it  by  an  admixture 
of  spirits  of  turpentine,  or  wax,  or  by  painting  on  an  absorbent 
ground.  The  mural  paintings  of  Puvis  de  Chavannes  (who,  accord, 
ing  to  Hamerton,  paints  in  oil  deadened  by  spirits  of  turpentine1) 
are  certainly  decorative  and  scholarly  in  tone  and  conception.  But 
why  use  oil  at  all  ? It  is  not  a necessity,  and  the  painting  will  surely 
stand  better  without  it. 

It  would  be  superfluous  to  preach  light  tones  for  walls  and  ceil- 
ings in  these  days,  such  a strong  hold  has  the  out-of-door  feeling 
taken  on  artists.  Indeed,  so  little  profit  is  drawn  from  the  peculiar 
qualities  of  oil,  that  one  is  tempted  to  question  their  use  even  for 
easel  pictures.  A majority  of  the  oil  pictures  in  our  current  exhi- 
bitions might  just  as  well  have  been  painted  in  wax,  distemper, 
or  water-colors.  Artists  are  painting  water-colors  in  oils,  to  put  it 
paradoxically  ; but  do  their  best  they  can  never  equal  the  whiteness 
of  water-colors  (or  the  other  media)  in  oils,  because  oil  is  a yellow  ve- 
hicle. There  was  a time  when  the  artist,  if  called  upon  to  play  the  tem- 
porary role  of  decorator,  was  apt  to  pitch  his  work  in  the  then  mellow 
key  of  the  oil  easel-picture.  Now  painters  pitch  their  easel-pictures 
in  the  light  decorative  key.  So  much  the  better  for  decoration. 
Whether  or  not  it  is  better  for  the  easel-picture  is  quite  another 
thing,  which  it  would  be  irrelevant  to  discuss  here.  Let  it  suffice  to 

1 1 have  just  received  a letter  from  a former  pupil,  now  profiting  by  the  coun- 
sels of  Puvis  de  Chavannes,  which  states  that  he  [Puvis]  “ paints  on  canvas  pre- 
pared with  plaster  [of  Paris  probably],  which  gives  his  work  that  dead  surface, 
and  uses  common  oil-paints.” 


106 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


observe  that  in  abandoning  the  glaze,  and  the  rich  transparent  tones 
so  easily  obtainable  in  oils,  we  abandon  processes  that  immortalized 
the  Venetians. 

We  are  now  confronted  by  a decorative  problem  of  an  exceptional 
nature,  the  solution  of  which  permits  the  use  of  oils.  The  easiest 
way  to  state  it  is  to  give  a familiar  illustration,  which  some 
of  my  readers  may  have  been  holding  in  petto  as  a protest  against 
my  condemnation  of  oil  decorations.  Almost  every  traveler  has 
been  impressed  with  the  actual  splendor  of  the  Ducal  Palace  at 
Venice;  but  the  imagination  must  be  stimulated  to  picture  its  mag- 
nificence when  the  gilded  carving  on  walls  and  ceilings,  incasing 
the  sensuous  tones  of  Paolo,  Tintoret  and  Titian  echoed  the  opu- 
lence of  sumptuously-clad  senators.  To-day  all  the  pomp  is  above, 
and  the  floors  look  starved.  But  in  those  days  when  Venice 
was  in  truth  Queen  of  the  Seas,  there  was  pomp  above  and  pomp 
below.  Glistening  frames  and  paintings  harmonized  with  the  sheen 
of  stuff.  It  must  have  resembled  a vessel  of  burnished  gold,  with 
precious  stones  therein,  reflected  and  intensified  by  the  polished 
metal.  Fresco  would  have  been ' too  cold,  formal  and  spiritual 
to  sustain  such  magnificence.  Its  pale,  dead  surface  would  have 
ill  accorded  with  a gorgeousness  that  was  Byzantine  rather  than  Ital- 
ian. A warm,  shining  medium,  such  as  oil  or  varnish,  was  needed 
to  complete  the  harmony.  Tintoret’s  ‘Paradise*  has  sadly  black- 
ened with  time,  but  it  is  less  noticeable  here.  The  massive  gold 
frames  counteract  in  a measure  the  darkening  of  years,  and  here  we 
have  the  rationale  of  the  gold  frame  for  oil  pictures.  When  these 
are  not  pitched  in  a water-color  key,  the  slight  yellowish  tint  induced 
by  the  oil,  varnish,  or  time,  or  by  all  three,  improves  rather  than  in- 
jures them,  provided  of  course,  the  yellowing  be  not  carried  too  far. 
The  rich,  yellow  tones  of  the  frame,  with  its  countless  reflections,  not 
only  enhance  the  mellow  tones  of  the  picture,  but  they  nullify  the 
dirty  quality  which  the  same  picture  would  apparently  have  if  framed 
with  pure  white.  It  must  be  remembered  that  oil  is  a yellow  medium, 
while  the  vehicle  for  water-colors,  fresco  and  wax-painting  is  colorless. 
For  the  most  part  the  Venetian  paintings  in  the  Ducal  Palace  are 
really  easel-pictures  attached  to  the  walls  and  ceilings,  not  because 
thev  are  painted  on  canvas,  but  because  they  have  the  qualities  of 
easel-pictures.  So,  too,  has  the  series  of  paintings  by  Rubens  for 
Maria  de’  Medici,  [See  Illustrations.]  which  probably  look  just  as 
well  on  the  walls  of  the  Louvre  as  they  did  on  the  walls  of  the  Lux- 
embourg. We  must  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  the  easel-pictures  of 


OIL-PAINTING. 


107 


these  great  masters,  if  not  always  decorative  in  tone  and  chiarooscuro, 
were  almost  invariably  monumental  in  form  and  composition.  The 
modern  painters,  on  the  contrary,  are  normally  decorative  in  tone, 
but  un-monumental  in  design.1 

When  effects,  similar  to  those  in  the  Ducal  Palace  are  desired, 
the  use  of  oil  is  legitimate.  It  is  often  advantageous  to  employ  color 
transparently  on  metallic  grounds,  and  then  oil  is  a very  convenient 
vehicle,  though  such  a varnish  as  Siccative  of  Harlem  diluted  with 
spirits  of  turpentine  might  be  substituted,  perhaps  advantageously. 
But  whenever  oil  is  used  it  should  be  with  the  greatest  moderation.2 


1 All  monumental  painting  is  decorative ; though  all  pictorial  decoration  is 
not  monumental. 

2 1 would  have  liked,  both  in  this  and  other  chapters,  to  institute  several  inter- 
esting comparisons  between  mural  paintings  — especially  modern  paintings  — 
executed  in  different  media,  had  I been  sure  of  the  processes.  It  was  impossible 
to  verify  these  processes  except  at  a cost  of  time  and  labor  that  the  result  would 
not  have  justified.  The  only  authorities  that  I could  consult  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  either  disagreed,  or  — from  certain  indications  not  worth  noting  here 
— did  not  command  my  confidence. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


WATER-GLASS. 


From  the  hrescos  by  Julius  Schnorr,  in  the  Royal  Palace,  Munich. 


IT  is  with  reluctance  that  I broach  the  water-glass  method ; for  I 
have  neither  worked  in  it,  nor  seen  the  important  water-glass  pic- 
tures painted  by  Ivaulbach  and  his  school  — not  to  mention  others. 
The  whole  subject  is  amply  treated  in  W.  Cave  Thomas’s  Mural 
Decoration.  A translation  is  there  given  of  the  pamphlet  by  Dr.  J. 
N.  Von  Fuchs,1  the  inventor  of  the  process  as  well  as  an  elaborate 
statement  by  Maclise  of  his  personal  experience  with  water-glass 
preparatory  to  painting  his  mural  pictures  in  the  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment. From  these  sources  I shall  draw  just  enough  to  give  a gen- 
eral idea  of  the  process,  adding  a few  extracts  from  a paper  that 
appeared  in  the  American  Architect  (Vol  XV.,  Xo.  429),  descriptive 
of  the  later  and  improved  Keim  water-glass  method ; for  no  survey 
of  the  technics  of  mural  painting  would  be  complete  without  some 
reference  to  stereochromy,  as  its  inventor  calls  this  kind  of  painting 
(from  crepeb gy  solid,  firm,  and  *pw/za,  color). 


xDr.  Fuchs  nublislied  his  first  pamphlet  on  Water-Glass  in  1825. 


WATER-GLASS. 


109 


Water-glass,  as  its  naire  implies,  is  a liquid  glass.  It  is  not  mixed 
with  the  pigments  — except  occasionally,  for  retouching  — but  is 
applied  to  the  finished  picture,  painted  with  colors  dissolved  in  pure 
water  by  means  of  a sprinkler.  In  fact,  it  is  a “ fixative,”  and  the 
process  corresponds  in  principle  to  that  of  fixing  a charcoal  drawing. 
The  colors,  when  dry,  have  but  little  consistence,  and  would  speedily 
be  brushed  or  washed  away  were  they  not  firmly  bound  together  by 
the  hard,  transparent,  insoluble  water-glass.  Of  this  there  are  four 
kinds. 

(a).  Potash  Water-Glass.  A mixture  of  : — 

15  parts  of  pulverized  quartz,  or  pure  quartz  sand, 

10  “ well-purified  potash, 

1 “ powdered  charcoal. 

These  ingredients  are  to  be  subjected  to  a strong  heat  till  they  are 
fused.  As  much  heat  is  required  as  is  necessary  to  melt  common 
glass.  When  cool,  it  is  pulverized  and  dissolved  in  about  five  parts 
of  boiling  water,  by  introducing  it  in  small  portions  into  an  iron  ves- 
sel and  constantly  stirring  the  liquid,  replacing  the  water  as  it  evap- 
orates, by  adding  hot  water  from  time  to  time,  and  by  continuing  to 
let  it  boil  for  three  or  four  hours,  until  the  whole  is  dissolved  — a slimy 
deposit  excepted  — and  until  a pellicle  begins  to  form  on  the  surface  of 
the  liquid,  which  indicates  that  the  solution  is  in  a state  of  great 
concentration ; it  disappears,  however,  when  the  liquid  is  stirred, 
and  the  boiling  may  then  be  continued  for  a short  time,  in  order  to 
obtain  the  solution  in  the  proper  state  of  concentration  — when  it 
has  a specific  gravity  of  from  1.24  to  1.25.  In  some  instances  it  will 
be  necessary  to  dilute  it  with  more  or  less  water.  When  it  has  the 
consistence  of  syrup  it  can  rarely  be  used. 

The  solution  is  allowed  to  cool,  and  left  to  clear  in  the  well-closed 
iron  vessel.  The  clear  liquid  is  then  decanted  off  from  the  deposit 
into  stoppered  bottles.  For  transportation  it  may  be  evaporated  to 
a gelatinous  mass  by  constantly  stirring  the  liquid,  and  then  packed 
into  tinned  iron  vessels.  Or  it  may  be  solidified  by  adding  one-fourth 
its  volume  of  alcohol  to  a concentrated  solution,  which  is  deposited 
after  a few  days  in  a solid  mass  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel. 

(5).  Soda  Water-Glass.  This  is  prepared  in  the  same  way  as  the 
potash  water-glass ; but  alcohol  does  not  precipitate  it  complete!}’. 
There  are  two  receipts  for  making  it.  This  is  the  cheaper  : — 

100  parts  of  quartz, 

60  “ anhydrous  sulphate  of  soda, 

15-20  “ charcoal  dust. 


110 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


When  completely  saturated  with  silica  it  gives,  with  water,  a some- 
what more  opaque  liquid  than  potash  water-glass. 

(c).  Double  Water-Glass'. — 

100  parts  of  quartz, 

28  “ purified  potash, 

22  “ neutral  anhydrous  carbonate  of  soda, 

6 “ powdered  charcoal,  or 

a mixture  of  three  measures  of  concentrated  potash  water-glass  with 
two  measures  of  concentrated  soda  water-glass  will  be  found  to 
answer  for  all  practical  purposes. 

The  first  three  kinds  of  water-glass,  when  completely  saturated 
with  silica,  are  more  or  less  cloudy,  owing  to  undissolved  and  very 
finely  divided  silica.  To  deprive  them  of  this  opacity,  it  is  sufficient 
to  add  soluble  silicate  of  soda  and  to  allow  them  to  stand  for  about  a 
day,  stirring  them  occasionally.  The  soluble  silicate  of  soda  is  pre- 
pared by  fusing  together  three  parts  pure  anhydrous  carbonate  of 
soda  and  two  parts  powdered  quartz. 

A dust-like  efflorescence,  after  some  time,  appears  upon  bodies 
impregnated  with  water-glass.  It  is  not  obnoxious,  but  proves  rather 
that  the  process  of  hardening  proceeds  favorably,  by  which  a little 
alkali  is  expelled,  thus  enabling  the  silica  to  act  more  freely  ; it  may 
easily  be  removed  with  a wet  sponge.  This  efflorescence  is  not  iden- 
tical with  that  which  frequently  makes  it's  appearance  on  damp  walls. 

The  applications  of  water-glass  are  various.  Mixed  with  sand-like 
substances  it  makes  an  excellent  cement.  It  imparts  hardness  to 
porous  bodies,  which  absorb  it,  such  as  vessels  of  baked  clay,  plates, 
bricks,  tiles,  etc.  Which  kind  of  water-glass  is  best  suited  for  a 
given  purpose  is  a matter  of  experiment.  Potash  water-glass  sets 
more  rapidly  than  the  soda  with  powdered  substances,  and  may  im- 
part greater  solidity  to  them,  though  the  difference  cannot  be  con- 
siderable. Soda  water-glass  being  more  liquid,  penetrates  more 
readily  into  the  pores  of  absorbent  bodies.  Soda  does  not  combine 
so  strongly  as  potash,  and  has  a strong  inclination  to  effloresce 
when  combined  with  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  air,  and  one  of  the 
advantages  of  the  soda  water-glass  might  be  due,  therefore,  to  its 
parting  readily  with  the  silica,  and  thus  accelerating  the  silicatization 
of  the  mass.  The  double  water-glass  seems  to  unite  the  properties 
of  the  other  two,  and  merits  preference  for  the  very  reason  that  it 
contains  two  bases  with  which  silica  combines  more  powerfully. 
Water-glass,  as  applied  to  mural  painting,  is  its  only  special  applica- 
tion that  here  concerns  us,  and  will  now  be  briefly  described. 


WATER-GLASS. 


Ill 


The  plaster  that  is  applied  directly  to  the  wall  is  of  the  usual 
kind,  the  lime  being  thoroughly  slaked,  and  sparingly  used.  Rich 
plaster  does  not  readily  absorb  the  water-glass,  and  will  sometimes 
cause  it  to  crack.  When  it  is  dry  the  water-glass  is  applied  to  con- 
solidate, and  make  it  adhere  to  the  wall.  The  application  is  repeated 
several  times,  allowing  the  surface  to  dry  each  time,  and  continued 
almost  to  the  point  of  complete  saturation.  Soda  and  double  water- 
glass  treated  with  the  soluble  silicate  of  soda,  are  preferable  to 
potash  water-glass,  because  they  are  absorbed  more  easily.  They 
should  be  diluted  with  equal  parts  of  water.  Owing  to  the  uneven- 
ness of  the  wall  the  plaster  will  be  thicker  in  some  parts  than  in 
others,  and  it  will  be  necessary  to  treat  these  thicker  parts  with  more 
water-glass  in  order  that  the  whole  surface  may  be  equally  saturated. 
The  composition  of  the  second  coat  is  similar  to  that  of  the  first, 
though  a fine  sand  may  be  used,  if  desired.  If  too  fine,  the  water- 
glass  is  not  readily  imbibed.  Kaulbach  preferred  a coarse-grained 
surface  that  felt  to  the  touch  like  a rasp.  When  this  second  coat  of 
plaster  is  dry  it  is  sometimes  rubbed  with  a sandstone  or  iron  straight- 
edge, in  order  to  remove  the  film  of  carbonate  of  lime  that  has 
formed  during  the  process  of  drying,  and  which  would  prevent  the 
absorption  of  the  water-glass.  A better  method  is  to  destroy  the 
incrustation  with  dilute  phosphoric  acid  (1  part  concentrated  acid  to 
6 parts  water),  brushed  over  the  surface.  Phosphate  of  lime  is 
formed  which  binds  well  with  the  water-glass.  When  the  plaster  is 
thoroughly  dry  it  is  impregnated  with  double  water-glass  clarified 
with  the  soluble  silicate  of  soda  and  diluted  with  its  equal  bulk  of 
water.  The  operation  should  be  repeated  when  the  first  impregna- 
tion is  dry.  Too  much  water-glass  would  close  up  the  pores  and 
inconvenience  the  painter.  In  that  case  time  will  effect  a cure,  or  tlie 
pores  of  the  ground  may  be  re-opened  by  burning  alcohol  on  it.  The 
wall  thus  prepared  may  be  painted  on  at  once,  if  desirable.  This  is 
not  a necessity  ; delay  increases  the  absorbing  capacity  of  the  ground. 

Water-glass  cement  maybe  used  as  a substitute  for  the  second  coat 
of  plaster.  The  water-glass  is  mixed  with  powdered  marble  or  quartz 
sand,  to  which  a little  dry  slaked  lime  has  been  added,  in  such  pro- 
portions that  the  cement  has  the  consistency  of  ordinary  plaster.  It 
has  certain  advantages  over  lime-mortar.  The  water-glass  is  equally 
spread  through  the  whole  mass,  so  as  to  ensure  equal  cementation  and 
silicatization.  During  the  repeated  moistening  of  the  picture,  no  lime 
will  be  drawn  to  the  surface  and  disturb  the  colors,  because  no 
soluble  lime  is  left  in  the  mass ; moreover,  no  incrustation  of  carbon- 


112 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


ate  of  lime  will  ever  form.  This  cement  becomes,  when  dry,  as  hard 
as  stone,  and  at  first  is  non-absorbent.  After  a few  days  it  acquires 
the  power  of  absorption,  but  loses  in  solidity;  hence,  the  necessity  of 
one  or  two  saturations  with  the  diluted  water-glass. 

The  colors  are  ground  with  pure  water.  The  wall  should  be  mois- 
tened frequently,  to  displace  the  air  from  the  pores  and  insure  the 
adherence  of  the  colors,  as  well  as  to  enable  the  painter  to  match  the 
tints  uniformly.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  wet  those  parts  too  much 
which  have  already  been  painted,  because  the  colors  are  liable  to  lose 
their  freshness,  the  water  bringing  the  finest  particles  up  to  the  sur- 
face, which,  however,  may  be  brushed  away,  when  dry,  with  a fine 
brush.  When  finished,  the  picture  is  fixed,  by  means  of  a sprinkler 
throwing  a fine  spray,  with  the  fixing  water-glass  diluted  with  half 
its  volume  of  water.  The  alternate  besprinkling  and  drying  is  con- 
tinued till  the  colors  adhere  so  firmly  that  they  cannot  be  rubbed  off 
with  the  finger.  If  white  pocket-handkerchiefs  be  smudged,  it  does 
not  prove  that  the  colors  are  insufficiently  fixed,  or  devoid  of  dura- 
bility, for  rubbing  with  force  loosens  grains  of  sand,  the  friction  of 
which  detaches  more  or  less  color  that  indirectly  stains  the  handker- 
chief. The  same  is  true  of  colors  applied  a buon  fresco.  Some  of 
the  so-called  meagre  colors,  such  as  black,  require  more  water-glass, 
which  is  applied  by  means  of  a soft  brush.  The  water-glass  is  not 
mixed  with  the  colors  on  the  palette,  except  for  retouching  pictures 
that  have  been  fixed ; though  it  might  with  advantage  be  added  to 
the  meagre  colors.  When  so  much  water-glass  has  been  applied 
to  the  surface  that  it  remains  unabsorbed  for  a minute,  it  is  better  to 
blot  off  the  excess  with  blotting-paper,  to  avoid  possible  spots. 

The  painting  is  finished  when  the  colors  are  fixed.  It  is  well  to 
wash  it  after  a few  days  with  spirits  of  wine,  to  remove  dust  and  the 
little  alkali  that  has  been  set  free,  and  at  the  end  of  a few  more  days  it 
may  be  washed  with  pure  water  — not  spring  water.  Paintings  exe- 
cuted on  the  outside  of  buildings  should  not  be  exposed  to  the  rain 
before  they  are  fixed,  and  ought  to  be  carefully  examined  at  the  end 
of  a few  months  or  a year,  to  ascertain  whether  they  have  acquired 
any  power  of  absorption.  In  that  case,  an  after-fixing  is  recom- 
mended. Old  plastered  walls  may  be  used  for  stereochromy,  pro- 
vided they  be  dry  and  sound  and  the  plaster  porous  after  it  has  been 
rubbed  with  rough  sand-stone. 

Water-glass  is  more  liquid  when  heated  (from  one  hundred  degrees 
to  one  hundred  and  twenty  degrees),  and  is  more  readily  imbibed  by 
porous  substances,  and,  therefore,  better  suited  for  fixing  colors.  The 


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WATER-GLASS. 


1 13 

sprinkler  may  be  heated  by  immersing  it  in  warm  water,  and  the 
wall-surface  by  burning  alcohol  on  it,  but  only  after  the  first  fixation 
of  the  colors. 

A word  as  to  the  pigments  : No  organic  color,  such  as  lake,  is  ad- 
missible. The  white  used  is  zinc  white,  which  combines  chemically 
with  the  water-glass.  The  colors  should  be  ground  as  fine  as  possi- 
ble. They  undergo  a slight  change  by  fixing,  but  acquire  their  nor- 
mal tone  in  time.  Cobalt  appears  much  brighter,  and  light  ochre 
much  darker,  and  are,  therefore,  not  recommended.  The  colors 
when  fixed  do  not  shine. 

Maclise,  who  made  many  experiments  with  water-glass  both  in 
England  and  Germany,  and  who  gained  much  information  from 
Kaulbach  and  other  practitioners,  says  that  the  porosity  of  the  plas- 
ter does  not  necessarily  result  from  the  coarseness  of  the  sand,  and 
was  assured  by  the  artists  most  conversant  with  stereoehromy  that 
any  remarkable  coarseness  of  the  surface  was  by  no  means  indispen- 
sable for  insuring  the  absorption  of  the  water-glass.  The  roughness 
or  smoothness  of  the  ground  was  entirely  optional.  They  also  stated, 
in  disagreement  with  the  recommendations  of  the  discoverer,  that  it 
was  not  Decessary  to  saturate  the  plaster  with  the  water-glass  pre- 
viously to  painting  on  it,  but  that  a final  fixation  of  the  picture  with 
the  fluid  sufficed.  Such  plaster  as  is  used  for  buon  fresco  they  deemed 
to  be  sound  enough  in  itself ; and  on  a ground  of  this  nature,  Maclise 
saw  the  artists  work  in  Berlin.  But  it  should  be  smoothed  with  a 
wooden  float,  and  not  rubbed  with  an  iron  trowel,  as  in  fresco,  a pro- 
cess that  brings  the  lime  to  the  surface,  rendering  it  non-absorbent, 
and,  consequently,  subjecting  the  colors  to  the  risk  of  flaking. 

The  process  being  new,  was  at  first  necessarily  tentative.  Addi- 
tional experiments  revealed  new  facts  or  modified  old  ones.  In  a let- 
ter dated  September  14,  1860,  Pettenkofer  thinks  that  the  potash 
water-glass  is  quite  safe,  and  less  liable  to  effloresce  than  the  soda 
water-glass.  In  another  letter  he  recommends  a ground  of  Portland 
cement.  The  first  coat  is  composed  of  three  jiarts  of  coarse  sand 
and  one  part  of  cement.  This  surface,  when  still  fresh,  is  covered 
with  a thin  coat  of  a finer  mixture  — three  parts  of  fine  sand  to 
one  of  cement  — from  one  to  two-twelfths  of  an  inch.  When  the 
upper  layer  has  sufficiently  sucked,  sand  is  thrown  against  it.  After 
a quarter  of  an  hour  the  sand  is  removed  with  a sharp-edged  iron 
ruler,  together  with  the  crust  of  the  mortar.  Then  more  sand  is 
thrown  against  the  surface,  which,  when  dry,  is  sprinkled  with  a sat- 
urated solution  of  carbonate  of  ammonia  in  water.  Kaulbach 


114 


MURAL  PAINTING, 


painted  a stereoehromic  picture  on  a ground  of  Portland  cement  and 
sand  in  the  Dominican  Monastery  at  Nuremberg.  Maclise  tried  it,  but 


apparently  did  not  like  it.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  original  process, 
as  invented  by  Fuchs,  has  been  much  modified  in  practice.  It  is  not 
impossible  that  to  some  of  these  modifications  may  be  attributed  the 


WATER-GLASS. 


115 


partial  failure  of  the  water-glass  process  to  fulfil  its  liigli  promise. 
Maclise  recommends  several  colors  of  the  organic  class  prohibited  by 
F uchs ; but  I should  think  that  the  latter  was  in  the  right. 

THE  KEIM  PROCESS. 

This  “is  based  on  the  stereochrome  process  of  Sclilotthauer  and 
Fuchs,  differing,  however,  from  that  in  such  important  particulars  as 
to  constitute,  practical!}',  an  entirely  new  process  in  itself.  In  the 
year  1818,  Professor  Sclilotthauer,  of  the  Munich  Academy,  who  had 
for  some  time  been  engaged  in  experiments  with  a view  to  discover- 
ing some  permanent  process  for  mural  paintings,  turned  his  attention 
to  the  substance  known  as  water-glass  (silicate  of  sodium),  the  inven- 
tion of  the  chemist  Fuchs.  The  result  was  the  adoption  of  the  stereo- 
chrome process.  In  this  process  the  surface  to  be  painted  on  con- 
sisted of  an  ordinary  mortar  of  lime  and  sand,  impregnated  with 
water-glass.  Upon  this  surface  the  painting  was  executed  in  water- 
color,  and  was  then  fixed  by  water-glass.  ...  In  practice,  it  soon 
became  evident  that  a simple  spraying  of  water-glass,  applied  to  hete- 
rogeneous pigments,  without  reference  to  their  peculiar  properties 
as  regards  chemical  composition,  cohesive  capability,  etc.,  was  not 
sufficient  to  insure  their  permanence ; certain  colors  in  particular,  as 
ultramarine,  umber,  and  black,  were  observed  to  be  always  the  first 
to  detach  themselves,  in  the  form  of  powder,  or  by  scaling  off  from 
the  painting,  thus  pointing  to  the  fact  that  their  destruction  was  not 
owing  to  any  accidental  defect  in  the  manner  of  their  application,  but 
to  some  radical  unsuitability  arising  from  the  chemical  conditions  of 
the  process.” 

It  would  be  unjust  to  the  memory  of  Fuchs,  not  to  state  that  the 
painters  often  neglected  to  follow  his  precepts.  He  particularly  em- 
phasized the  necessity  of  saturating  the  plaster  ground  with  water- 
glass;  but  neither  Maclise  nor  the  German  artists  whom  he  con- 
sulted deemed  it  necessary  to  follow  this  injunction.  It  is  not  impos- 
sible that  their  neglect  mav  have  had  something  to  do  with  the 
ultimate  decay  of  the  pictures  ; unfortunately,  there  are  no  data  on 
which  to  base  an  opinion.  The  exact  nature  of  the  grounds  on  which 
the  pictures  were  painted,  as  well  as  their  actual  condition  should  be 
precisely  known  in  order  to  come  to  an  authoritative  conclusion. 
Fuchs,  moreover,  attributing  the  failures,  that  were  at  first  frequently 
made,  to  the  upper  layer  of  plaster,  recommended  as  a substitute  the 
water-glass  cement,  previously  described.  This  he  deemed  more  reli- 
able than  the  plaster ; yet  it  does  not  appear  to  have  been  used  as  a 


116 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


ground  for  mural  paintings.  Again  : lie  insists  that  the  meagre 
colors,  such  as  black  — the  very  colors  that  “ were  observed  to  be  al- 
ways the  first  to  detach  themselves  ” — require  more  water-glass, 
which  should  be  added  with  a fine  brush.  He  even  thinks  it  would 
be  well  the  mix  the  water-glass  with  such  colors.  Perhaps  this 
injunction,  too,  was  violated.1 

Keim  suggests  several  innovations  in  the  preparation  of  the  wall. 
If  this  be  already  covered  with  plaster,  it  will  serve  for  the  first  coat, 
provided  it  be  sound  and  dry.  If  not,  the  bricks  must  be  laid  bare, 
and  the  plaster  between  them  picked  out  to  a depth  of  about  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch.  On  this  surface,  a thin  squirting  is  cast,  com- 
posed as  follows : — 

4 parts  of  coarse  quartz  sand,  infusorial  earth  and  powdered 
marble,  mixed  in  certain  proportions  (?)  to 
1 part  of  quick-lime,  slaked  with  distilled  water. 

Upon  this  squirting-cast  follows  plaster  of  the  ordinary  consist' 
ence,  and  composed  of  the  same  ingredients.  On  this,  again,  a third 
or  painting  ground  is  laid,  not  exceeding  from  one-eighth  to  one-quar- 
ter of  an  inch  in  thickness.  This  last  coat  is  composed  of  : 

8 parts  of  the  finest  white  quartz  sand,  marble-sand  artifi- 
cially prepared,  and  free  from  dust,  marble  meal  and  in- 
fusorial earth  in  the  proper  proportions  (?)  to  1 part 
quick-lime  slaked  with  distilled  water. 

For  works  executed  on  the  exterior  of  buildings,  pumice-sand  is 
recommended  in  addition  to  the  other  ingredients.  A wall  thus  pre- 
pared “ presents  so  hard  a surface  as  to  admit  of  sparks  being  struck 
from  it  with  a steel.”  Only  distilled  or  filtered  rain-water  should  be 
used  in  this  process ; for  should  the  water  contain  lime  it  would  af- 
fect the  fixing-solution  to  the  prejudice  of  the  painting. 

When  the  plaster  is  thoroughly  dry,  it  is  treated  to  a solution  of 
hydro-fluo-silicic  acid,  to  remove  the  thin  crust  of  carbonate  of  lime. 
It  is  then  saturated  with  two  applications  of  potash  water-glass  di- 
luted with  distilled  water,  and  when  dry  is  ready  for  painting.  The 

1 Mr.  Otto  Grundmann,  Instructor  in  the  School  of  Drawing  and  Painting.  Bos- 
ton Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  worked  for  some  time  in  water-giass,  with  Godlried 
Gutfens  and  Jan  Swerts  of  Antwerp,  in  the  Church  of  St.  Nicholas,  Ypres, 
about  nine  years  ago.  They  did  not  prepare  the  plaster  ground  with  water- 
glass,  nor  did  he  think  that  these  mural  paintings  ha  t deteriorated.  The  same 
artists  had  executed  other  works  in  tvater-glass,  and  were  well  satisfied  with  the 
process.  Mr.  Grundmann  says,  that  “blacks  and  blues  are  treated  like  other 
colors,  and  that  a second  coat  of  water-glass  may  be  used  [over  the  whole  pic- 
ture] if  the  first  should  not  be  enough.”  He  saw  the  works  of  Kaulbach.in  water- 
glass  at  the  National  Gallery  of  Berlin.  The  * History  of  the  Reformation  ’ was 
overspread  with  cracks,  not  long  plaster  cracks,  but  short  cracks,  such  as  are  de- 
veloped on  oil  paintings.  It  had  not,  however,  grown  dark.  The  exposed  fres- 
cos on  the  outer  walls  had  greatly  suffered. 


WATER-GLASS. 


117 


grain  may  be  coarse  or  smooth  according  to  the  artists’  taste ; but 
the  smoother  the  ground,  the  less  absorbent  it  is,  and  the  more  diffi- 
cult the  fixing.  If  desired,  the  ground  may  be  prepared  in  any  tone, 
and  all  those  colors  may  be  used  that  are  suitable  for  the  stereo- 
chrome process.  These  are,  for  the  most  part,  the  natural  earths  and 
metallic  oxides.  Every  color  should  remain  chemically  unaffected 
by  the  ground,  by  the  other  colors  in  contact  with  it,  or  by  the  fixing 
material.  “ To  meet  this  end,  the  colors  in  this  process  are  treated 
beforehand  with  alkaline  solutions  (of  potash  or  ammonia),  to  antici- 
pate any  change  of  hue  which  might  result  from  the  use  of  the  alka- 
line liquids  which  form  the  fixative.  In  addition  to  this,  they  are 
further  prepared  with  certain  other  substances,  such  as  oxide  of  zinc, 
carbonate  of  baryta,  felspar,  powdered  glass,  etc.,  as  required  by  the 
peculiar  properties  of  each,  in  order  to  obviate  any  other  danger  of 
chemical  change  taking  place.  . . . From  the  various  nature  of  the 
properties  possessed  by  some  of  the  pigments,  it  was  found  that  their 
capacity  for  absorbing  the  alkaline  silicate  with  which  they  were 
fixed  varied  very  greatly.  There  was  also  a marked  difference  in 
the  degree  of  mechanical  cohesive  capacity,  which  they  respectively 
possessed.  To  equalize  them  in  these  respects,  without  which  the 
fixing  would  have  been  a work  of  great  difficulty  and  uncertainty, 
alumina,  magnesia  and  hydrate  of  silica  were  added  as  required.  The 
result  was  that  all  the  colors  are  equally  acted  upon  by  the  fixing  so- 
lution, and  all  attain  an  equal  degree  of  durability  after  fixing,  both 
as  regards  the  mechanical  and  chemical  action  of  this  process  upon 
them.  In  the  year  1878,  a large  mural  painting  was  executed  by 
this  process  on  the  exterior  of  the  parish  church  at  Eichelberg,  near 
Regensburg.  Before  its  completion,  and  therefore  before  any  of  the 
fixing  solution  had  been  applied  to  it,  it  was  drenched  by  a heavy 
storm  of  rain.  Contrary  to  anticipation,  it  was  found  that  the  paint- 
ing, so  far  from  being  in  any  degree  washed  away,  had  held  perfectly 
firm,  and  even  in  some  places  seemed  to  be  as  hard  as  if  already 
fixed.  Mr.  Keim’s  explanation  of  this  unexpected  result,  which  he 
subsequently  confirmed  by  experiments,  was  that  a chemical  cohesion 
li'ad  already  taken  place  by  the  action  of  the  alkali,  set  free  in  the 
mortar,  upon  the  silicates  in  the  pigments.” 

The  preparation  of  the  colors  and  the  fixing-glass  is  apparently  a 
complicated  process,  and  demands  the  services  of  an  expert.  But 
the  artist  would  be  freed  from  all  such  complications,  and  for  him 
the  process  would  be  very  simple.  He  can  paint  thinly  or  with 
impasto,  and  retouch  ad  libitum.  It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that 


113 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


pigments  applied  thinly  can  be  more  securely  fixed  than  impasto,  and 
are  therefore  likely  to  be  more  durable.  (But  impasto  is  also  more 
liable  to  perish  in  the  other  processes,  not  to  mention  its  tendency  to 
collect  dust.  Yet  at  times  it  is  too  effective  to  be  discarded,  especially 
in  combination  with  rich  materials.)  The  palettes  are  constructed 
with  small  pans  to  hold  the  colors,  of  which  the  residue,  at  the  end 
of  the  day’s  work,  may  either  be  replaced  in  the  bottle  or  kept  moist 
in  the  pan  with  distilled  water. 

“ The  last  stage  in  the  process  is  the  work  of  fixing.  In  the  ster- 
eochrome process  the  fixing  medium  employed  was  silicate  of  potash, 
thoroughly  saturated  with  silica,  in  combination  with  sufficient  sodic 
silicate  to  prevent  it  from  opalescing.  The  chief  defect  of  this  lay  in 
the  fact  that  it  was  often  apt  to  produce  spots  upon  the  painting. 
Mr.  Keim  has  substituted  silicate  of  potash,  treated  with  caustic  am- 
monia and  caustic  potash.  The  action  of  the  carbonic  acid  in  the 
atmosphere  and  in  the  water  during  the  process  leads  to  the  forma- 
tion cf  carbonated  alkali,  which  makes  its  way  to  the  surface,  and 
would  form,  when  dry,  a whitish  film  over  the  painting.  To  obviate 
this  danger,  as  well  as  to  expedite  the  process  of  converting  the  sili- 
cate of  potash,  with  the  basic  oxides  existing  in  the  substance  of  the 
painting,  into  silicate,  the  fixing  solution  is  heated  further  with  car- 
bonate of  ammonia.  The  effect  of  this  upon  silicate  of  potash  is  that 
silica  is  precipitated  in  a fine  gelatinous  form,  and  ammonia  set 
free.  This  latter  volatilizes,  and  carbonate  of  potash  is  formed, 
which  is  easily  removed  by  washing,  after  the  completion  of  the  fix- 
ing. The  fixing  solution  is  employed  hot,  with  the  advantage  of  obtain- 
ing a quicker  and  more  perfect  formation  of  silicate  than  was  pos- 
sible in  the  stereochroine  process,  where  the  solution  was  applied 
cold.  The  effect  of  the  fixative  as  it  sinks  into  the  ground,  which 
has  already  absorbed  the  pigments,  is  to  convert  the  painting  into  a 
veritable  casting,  uniting  with  colors  and  ground  in  one  hard,  homo- 
geneous mass  of  artificial  stone.  The  finished  painting  has  proved 
itself  impervious  to  all  tests.  It  will  admit  of  any  acid,  even  in  a 
concentrated  form,  being  poured  over  it  (save,  of  course,  hydrofluoric 
acid).”  It  has  other  applications  than  that  of  mural  painting.  For 
house-painting  it  is  claimed  that  it  would  last  as  long  as  the  house 
itself,  only  needing  an  occasional  scrubbing;  it  would  also  form  an 
excellent  protection  against  damp.  Taking  its  durability  into  con- 
sideration, it  is  not  more  expensive  than  other  systems.1 


’ Condit,  referring  as  a house-painter  to  certain  ready-mixed  pigments,  of 
which  water-glass  (silicate  of  soda)  is  one  of  the  ingredients,  says  that  he  “ has 


WATER-GLASS. 


119 


There  is  much  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  where  comparisons  are 
instituted  between  the  Keim  and  Fuchs  processes,  to  which  excep- 
tion may  be  taken.  As  we  have  seen,  the  latter  did  not  recommend 
the  potash  water-glass  for  painting.  This  was  an  innovation  intro- 
duced probably  after  the  death  of  Fuchs  (1856);  for  Prof.  Petten- 
kofer  recommends  it  as  a substitute  for  the  soda  and  double  water- 
glass  (in  1860)  “ which  is  apt  to  come  up  to  the  surface  of  the  painting.” 


From  the  Frescos  by  Julius  Schnorr,  in  the  Royal  Palace,  Munich. 


(An  unobjectionable  efflorescence,  according  to  Fuchs,  and  easily  re- 
moved.) Pettenkofer  also  counsels  the  use  of  caustic  potash  with  the 
water-glass  for  fixing,  in  the  proportion  of  one  to  fifteen,  except  for 
black,  cobalt,  and  chrome  red.  The  fixing  solution  may  have  been 
“applied  cold  in  the  stereochrome  process,”  but  contrary  to  the 
recommendation  of  Fuchs,  who  is  very  explicit  with  regard  to  the 
heating.  Though  the  Keim  is  undoubtedly  an  improvement  over  the 
earlier  processes,  yet  it  evidently  has  not  been  compared  with  that  of 
Fuchs,  but  with  a less  laborious  one  — and  probably  less  secure  — 


seen  such  a paint  in  nearly  perfect  condition  after  tern  years,  a portion  protected 
by  a building  being  in  an  absolutely  perfect  condition,  with  a tino lustre.  Some 
of  the  paint,  however  (probably  too  little  oil),  would  crack  and  peel  in  the  worst 
manner,  the  paint  curling  like  a dried  leaf.  This,  I am  told  by  an  old  painter 
who  has  used  these  paints  for  ten  years,  it  was  specially  and  decidedly  prone  to 
do,  if  (1)  any  break,  however  sma  1,  occurred,  the  water  seemingly  shelling  it  off, 
either  directly  or  by  expanding  the  wood ; (2)  if  placed  over  or  under  a lead  and 
oil  paint.  We  have,  probably,  here  one  of  the  best  illustrations  of  the  theory 
and  fault  of  a good  paint.  It  is  hard  and  therefore  durable,  preventing  even 
white  lead  from  ‘ chalking’ for  nearly  a dozen  years.  But  as  it  contains  too 
much  hardening  substance  for  its  little  amount  of  oil,  it  is  too  hard,  has  no  elas- 
ticity, and^cracks  badly;. moreover,  the  oil  does  not  penetrate  the  wood  (water- 
glass  goes  into  the  wood),  and,  by  reason  of  this  and  the  small  elasticity,  destruc- 
tion is  rapid  and  fatal,  whenever  it  begins,  as  it  may  soon.” 

Such  pigments  and  their  application  differ  widely  from  the  pure  water-glass 
process;  but  even  the  behavior  of  these  hybrids  is  not  without  its  lesson. 


120 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


substituted  by  impatient  practitioners.  This  is  worth  noting,  as  in- 
deed is  everything  bearing  on  the  decay  or  preservation  of  mural 
paintings.  It  is  to  be  deplored  that  there  is  no  detailed,  authoritative, 
and  accessible  statement  of  the  actual  condition  of  all  the  important 
water-glass  paintings  executed  thirty  or  forty  years  ago.  Very 
likely  many  of  them  are  still  sound. 

Though  the  painter  may,  and  probably  must,  take  much  of  the 
above  on  faith,  yet  a presentation  of  the  principle  of  water-glass  has 
been  necessary,  in  order  that  he  (or  the  architect)  may  judge  of  its 
applicability  as  a decorative  medium.  In  the  second  paper,  I took 
occasion  to  doubt  its  durability  when  applied  to  the  exterior  of  build- 
ings, basing  my  doubts  on  the  behavior  of  pigments  exposed  to  sun 
and  weather  influences.  Possibly  these  doubts  are  ill-founded.  The 
principles  on  which  the  process  is  based  seem  logical,  and  the  im- 
proved Keim  method  may  prove  far  more  durable  in  exposed  situa- 
tions than  others  that  have  been  found  wanting.  Durability  is  but  a 
relative  term.  No  human  product  is  everlasting.  Buildings  them- 
selves are  comparatively  short-lived.  A painting  may  fairly  be  called 
durable  that  co-exists  with  the  wall  it  decorates. 

There  is  much  to  recommend  the  process  as  a medium  for  interior 
decoration,  if  half  that  is  claimed  for  it  by  men  of  repute  be  true. 
Given  the  materials,  it  is  simple  and  direct ; so  simple  that  any 
mural  painter  could  quickly  master  its  technicalities.  Like  fiesco,  it 
is  without  gloss,  though  probably  less  luminous.  It  apparently  pos- 
sesses ail  the  requisites  for  monumental  painting  on  the  wall. 


CHAPTER  Xn. 


THE  EDUCATION  AND  QUALIFICATIONS  OF  THE  MURAL  PAINTER. 


Study  for  Paul  Baudry’s  Ceiling,  ‘The  Glorification  of  the  Law.' 


AYING  briefly  reviewed  the  technics  of  mural  painting,  it  will 
now  be  relevant  to  consider  the  education  of  the  painter  and 
his  essential  qualifications.  Perhaps  there  is  no  more  fruitful 


method  of  procedure  than  to  analyze  the  training  of  the  Renaissance 
giants,  and  to  institute  a few  salutary  comparisons  between  their 
development  and  that  of  modern  men  — especially  of  our  compat. 
riots.  From  what  has  already  been  expressed  in  these  pages,  the 
reader  has  doubtless  drawn  many  pregnant  deductions  for  himself; 
but,  at  the  cost  of  repetition  — for  only  by  persistent  re-iteration  can 
we  ever  be  heard  — certain  statements  must  be  made.  Much  has 
been  written,  both  tentatively  and  authoritatively,  on  the  political, 
physical,  and  ethical  conditions  that  are  essential  to  the  evolution  of 
an  artist.  Some  have  maintained  that  art  can  thrive  only  within 
specified  degrees  of  latitude  and  longitude.  Some  have  defined  the 


122 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


political  conditions  most  favorable  to  its  growth.  Of  these  a few 
have  stoutly  affirmed  that  it  must  be  fertilized  by  despotism  — as  if 
despotism  could  nourish  anything  necessarily  so  free  and  spontane- 
ous as  art  1 Others  have  attributed  its  triumphs  to  religious  zeal. 
Doubtless  race,  climate,  government,  and  religion  enter,  as  ingre- 
dients, that  subtle  compound  called  art;  but  in  just  what  proportions 
it  would  be  impossible  to  state  with  accuracy.  While  we  know  that 
certain  nationalities  have  shown  a marvelous  facility  and  disposition 
for  the  arts,  while  it  is  self-evident  that  under  certain  physical  influ- 
ences the  practice  of  art  is  out  of  the  question,  yet  it  would  be  very 
unsafe  to  predicate  what  are  the  fittest  environments  for  the  artistic 
growth  of  civilized  nations,  especially  in  these  days  when  modern 
inventions  are  rapidly  levelling  all  the  barriers  that  formerly  isolated 
them.  Eugene  Muntz  writes,1  “In  order  to  prosper,  the  arts  exact 
a combination  of  circumstances  the  most  complex,  and  no  rigorous 
correlation  can  be  established  between  moral,  religious,  or  political 
development,  and  artistic  production.  The  latter  assuredly  will 
always  bear  the  impress  of  its  surroundings,  but  its  intrinsic  value 
will  result  from  very  different  causes.  There  are  great  nations,  like 
England,  that  have  never  been  able  to  form  an  indigenous  school, 
and  there  are  great  epochs,  like  the  French  Revolution,  that  have 
not  witnessed  the  birth  of  a single  chef-d’oeuvre.” 

It  is  frequently  said  that  America  is  yet  too  callow  to  evolve  an 
art.  I do  not  believe  it.  If  anything  were  to  interfere  with  our 
artistic  growth  it  would  be  the  acceptance  of  so  baneful  and  fatal- 
istic a theory.  Nothing  is  more  depressing  to  the  artist  than  to  be 
told  that  his  entourage  precludes  the  realization  of  his  dreams. 
When  man  is  pioneering  in  the  primeval  forests  he  has  neither  such 
dreams  nor  the  power  to  realize  them.  But  the  pioneering  epoch  was 
passed  more  than  two  centuries  ago  in  some  of  our  communities,  com- 
munities that  were  established  by  the  offspring  of  an  old  civilization. 
The  Greek  colonists  of  Magna  Grecia  produced  artistic  works  of 
almost  equal  merit  with  those  of  the  mother  country  ; and  at  that 
time  things  marched  slowly.  Ages  were  then  required  for  the  evolution 
of  a nation  or  an  art ; but  recent  inventions  have  unconscionably  dis- 
arranged the  time-table  of  the  sages.  Our  older  communities  have 
begotten  children  that  in  a few  decades  have  grown  prodigiously. 
As  yet  they  are  somewhat  crude  and  undeveloped,  but  ambitious  and 
receptive.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  nullify  all  that  has  just  been  said 


1 Etudes  sur  I’Histoire  de  la  Pienture , etc.,  Paris,  1886. 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MURAL  PAINTER. 


123 


about  the  inscrutability  of  the  mysteries  that  generate  an  atmos- 
phere congenial  to  art,  by  effusively  predicting  a brilliant  artistic 
career  for  America ; but  I certainly  wish  to  demolish  the  counter- 
proposition. If  freedom,  youth,  energy,  wealth,  amalgamation  of 
race,  variety  of  climate,  and  a rare  eagerness  to  learn  from  others, 
argue  anything,  it  is  surely  the  life,  not  the  death  of  art.  The  com- 
mercial spirit  may  at  times  offend,  but  it  supplies  the  sinews  of  war, 
as  it  were,  those  boundless  opportunities  so  stimulating  and  necessary 
to  the  production  of  great  works.  Commerce  did  much  for  the  arts 
both  in  Venice  and  Florence. 

However  widely  opinions  may  differ  as  to  the  relative  merits  of  the 
modern  educational  systems,  they  must  be  comparatively  unani- 
mous as  to  their  inferiority  to  those  of  Mediaeval  or  Renaissance 
times.  Then  the  relations  between  master  and  pupil,  as  has  been 
previously  shown,  were  exceedingly  intimate,  the  latter  frequently 
living  as  well  as  working  with  the  former,  beginning  at  the  foot  of 
the  ladder  and  working  his  way  up  to  the  topmost  rung  — if  there 
was  anything  in  him  — passing  through  the  successive  mechanical 
and  aesthetic  stages,  from  the  grinding  of  colors  to  collaboration  with 
the  master  on  an  important  easel  or  mural  painting.  The  oft-quoted 
but  precise  words  of  Cennini  — from  which  I have  already  drawn  — 
give  such  a definite  idea  of  the  pupil’s  obligations  that  their  inser- 
tion at  length  will  be  justified.  “Know,  that  you  cannot  learn  to 
paint  in  less  time  than  that  which  I shall  name  to  you.  In  the  first 
place  you  must  study  drawing  for  at  least  one  year;  then  you  must 
remain  with  a master  at  the  workshop  for  the  space  of  six  years,  at 
least,  that  you  may  learn  all  the  parts  and  members  of  the  art  — to 
gri-nd  colors,  to  boil  down  glues,  to  grind  plaster,  to  acquire  the  prac- 
tice of  laying  grounds  on  pictures,  to  work  in  relief,  and  to  scrape 
the  surface  and  to  gild;  afterwards  to  practice  coloring,  to  adorn 
with  mordants,  paint  cloths  of  gold,  and  paint  on  walls,  for  six  more 
years  — drawing  without  intermission  on  holydavs  and  workdays. 
And  by  this  means  you  will  acquire  great  experience.  If  you  do 
otherwise  you  will  never  attain  perfection.  There  are  many  who 
say  that  3'ou  may  learn  the  art  without  the  assistance  of  a master. 
Do  not  believe  them;  let  this  work  be  an  example  to  you,  studying 
it  day  and  night.  And  if  you  do  not  study  under  some  master,  you 
will  never  be  fit  for  anything  ; nor  will  you  be  able  to  show  your  face 
among  the  masters.”  Again,  he  says,  “ Now  then,  you  who,  possess- 
ing noble  minds,  are  lovers  of  this  accomplishment,  and  who  stud}" 
the  arts  in  general,  adorn  yourselves  first  with  this  vesture  — namely, 


124 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


love,  reverence,  obedience,  and  perseverence.”  Such  was  the  normal 
curriculum  in  Italyi  and  it  will  be  seen  that  it  strongly  resembles 
that  of  Byzantium  as  described  in  a previous  chapter.  It  was  an 
admirable  common-sense  system  of  education,  and  one  that  is  more 
or  less  closely  followed  to-day  by  would-be  lawyers,  soldiers,  archi- 
tects, mechanics  — by  the  students  of  every  profession,  except  those 
of  art.  The  pupil  left  the  atelier  thoroughly  equipped.  He  was  well- 
versed  both  in  the  material  part  of  his  art  and  in  the  science  of  pic- 
ture-making according  to  the  lights  of  his  master.  For  some  years 
he  painted  in  the  latter’s  style.  The  idea  of  what  we  call  originality 
never  entered  his  head  — and  there  is  really  but  very  little  scope  for 
originality  without  lawlessness.  He  was  quite  content  could  he  slightly 
improve  on  some  motif  of  a predecessor.  Raphael’s  Sposalizio  was 
inspired  by  Perugino’s,  but  greatly  surpassed  it.  After  making  sev- 
eral'sketches  for  his  Entombment , he  finally  adopted  Mantegna’s 
scheme,  impregnating  it  with  his  exquisite  personality.  Small  won- 
der is  it  that  such  works,  the  slow  accretions  of  time  and  experience, 
were  very  beautiful.  (It  was  just  so  in  the  days  of  the  Greeks.  A 
man  died  happy  could  he  improve  a moulding  or  a capital.)  While 
executing  his  maiden  commissions,  the  young  artist  kept  his  eyes 
open,  drew  from  the  paintings  and  seulptures  of  accredited  masters, 
and  traveled  when  his  circumstances  permitted.  If  he  were  intelli- 
gent and  receptive  he  gradually  emancipated  himself  from  his  mas- 
ter’s style,  as  will  every  artist  of  ability  sooner  or  later.  The  man 
who  fears  to  be  enslaved  by  his  instructor,  while  following  his 
behests,  must  be  made  of  poor  stuff.  His  artistic  parentage  may  be 
revealed  in  the  products  of  his  brush  or  chisel,  but  why  should  he 
be  ashamed  of  it  ? Do  not  our  ver}'  faces  betray  our  origin  ? Are 
we  impeded  in  the  race  for  life  bv  our  inherited  experience  ? Do 
we  not  rather  deem  it  so  much  gain,  well  pleased  if  we  may  add 
thereto  our  mite  for  the  benefit  of  posterity?  And  if  even  this 
cannot  be  accomplished  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  world  has 
need  of  qualified,  non-creative  subordinates.  When  art  moves 
in  well-defined  channels  its  course  is  smooth  and  prosperous.  The 
men  of  old  had  a definite  purpose,  knew  whither  they  would  go,  and 
went  there  by  the  most  direct  route.  To  them  the  Renaissance  was 
a tonic,  not  an  irritant.  The  “ Second  Birth,”  the  great  “Awaken- 
ing ” meant  liberty,  not  riot.  The  treasures  of  antiquity  exalted, 
but  did  not  intoxicate  them;  were  used,  not  abused.  The  stream  did 
not  overflow ; for  its  banks  were  high  and  solid,  the  influx  gradual 
and  controllable.  But  suppose  the  dikes  had  been  less  secure,  and 

1 Slightly  modified,  but  not  essentially,  in  the  ‘atter  half  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury when  men  lived  faster. 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MURAL  PAINTER. 


125 


that  tributaries  from  Egypt,  Assyria,  Persia,  Japan,  Greece,  Byzan 
tium,  Arabia,  Spain,  France,  Germany,  etc.,  had  suddenly  poured  thei 
waters  into  the  stream,  what  then  ? Would  the  artists  have  checkei 
the  torrent,  or  the  torrent  engulfed  the  artists?  Something  like  this 
is  happening  here  to-day. 

It  was  shown  in  chapter  X.  that  the  transition  from  the  easel-picture 
to  the  wall  was  an  easy  matter  for  the  Renaissance  artist.  All  their 
works  were  in  the  “grand  style/’  whether  on  paper,  panel,  canvas, 
or  plaster ; so  that  as  far  as  invention  and  design  were  concerned, 
scarcely  any  change  was  necessitated  by  their  passage  from  the 
studio  to  the  staging.  Different  technical  conditions  naturally 
exacted  variations  of  technique,  but  not  of  conception.  The  line  was 
occasionally  and  unobtrusively  used  — though  much  less  than  is  com- 
monly supposed  — to  define  objects  remote  from  the  spectator,  and  to 
detach  them  from  their  environments.  It  was  rarely  apparent,  as  a 
line,  in  the  best  days.  The  figures  and  draperies  were  beautifully 
modelled  (“  finished,”  the  layman  would  say,)  and  broadly,  withal. 
Breadth  does  not  mean,  as  some  suppose,  dash  and  coarseness ; it 
means  simplicity,  suppression  cf  the  meaningless,  emphasis  of  the 
broad  and  expressive  masses  at  the  expense  of  accidental,  insignifi- 
cant and  belittling  detail.  The  astonishing  part  of  Giotto’s,  Ra- 
phael’s, and  Michael  Angelo’s  mural  work  — and  in  fact  that  of  all  the 
great  frescoers  — is  that  it  looks  well  both  near  and  far  off.  Every 
painter  knows  how  difficult  it  is  to  effect  this  result,  or,  in  the  slang 
of  the  studio,  to  make  a refined  piece  of  work  “hold  ” at  a distance. 
The  execution  of  the  nude  on  the  Sistine  Vault  is  perfection  — 
broad  and  careful,  not  in  the  least  coarse  or  slovenly.  The  outlines, 
without  being  hard,  are  firm  and  eloquent,  so  that  there  is  absolutely 
no  doubt  about  the  contour  of  a figure.1  The  same  might  be  said  of 
a hundred  or  more  frescos  of  that  epoch.  In  later,  decadent  days 
the  work  grew  coarser,  more  summary  and  effective,  and  more  scenic. 
Bravura  took  the  place  of  heroic  delineation.  Modern  decorators 
frequently  paint  too  coarsely  in  the  expectation  that  distance  will 

1 Wilson,  who  had  special  facilities  for  examining  the  vault  of  the  Sistine, 
says  that  these  frescos  excite  admiration  “ particularly  when  observed  from-a 
distance  of  a few  feet.”  “It  might  be  thought  that  the  vigorous  draughtsman 
with  some  tendency  to  exaggeration  of  form,  might  exhibit  a similar  disposi- 
tion in  the  use  of  the  brush,  but  he  painted  in  the  soft  Tuscan  manner  so  much 
in  contrast  with  his  forcible  drawing.”  “ The  heads  and  faces  were  painted  with 
loving  care  and  attention,  the  features  being  clearly  outlined  with  dark,  fine 
lines  to  insure  distinctness  when  seen  from  a distance.”  “ It  was  frequently 
Michael  Augel.o's  practice  to  include  portions  of  the  background  in  his  day's 
work:  he  evidently  did  so  to  insure  Softness  of  outline.”  At  an  altitude  of 
sixty  feet  the  “fine  lines  ” were  not  noticeable,  aud  the  cod  tours,  though  clearly 
defin  J,  were  not  harsh. 


12G 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


mitigate  the  effect.  Certainly,  distance  softens  asperities,  but  the 
choice  of  handling  should  be  guided  rather  by  the  degree  of  light 
than  by  the  degree  of  distance.  A blaze  of  light  will  reveal  any 
undue  rudeness  of  execution  at  a very  considerable  distance.  A 
coarse  and  vigorous  treatment  would  be  far  more  legitimate  and 
agreeable  on  a neighboring  obscure  wall  than  on  a strongly-lighted 
one,  many  times  more  distant.  These  facts  are  strikingly  exempli- 
fied on  the  stage.  Every  frequenter  of  the  theatre,  not  purblind, 
must  have  been  alternately  disgusted  and  amused  by  the  injudicious 
and  stupid,  though  generous,  application  of  cosmetics  to  the  features 
of  the  corps  de  ballet , choruses,  and  supernumeraries  (not  to  men- 
tion the  superior  officers);  disgusted,  because  the  effect  under  the 
tell-tale  glare  of  gas  and  electricity  is  positively  loathsome ; amused, 
because  these  poor  receptacles  of  pigments  fancy,  like  the  ostrich, 
with  his  head  in  the  sand,  that  “ nobody  sees.”  Could  they  but  imi- 
tate that  long  and  strong-legged  bird  in  deed  as  well  as  thought! 
Buffoons  and  clowns,  failing  to  recognize  the  revelations  of  light, 
revolt  oftener  than  they  amuse  the  discriminating  portion  of  their 
audiences. 

To  return  once  more  to  the  Renaissance  artist.  We  have  noticed 
the  community  of  style  between  his  mural  and  easel  work.  The  dif- 
ference in  technique  was  conquered  in  the  atelier.  Wall-painting 
was  not  only  practised,  but  practised  under  the  eye  of  the  master, 
and  subsequent  collaboration  gave  the  necessary  confidence.  Thus 
the  pupil  thoroughly  solved  the  material  mysteries  of  the  wall. 
Mural  painting  presupposes  a certain  decorative  proficiency  and 
knowledge  of  architectural  forms.  These,  too,  the  tyro  acquired  in 
the  atelier.  And  here  is  another  bond  of  union  between  their  easel 
and  wall  pictures.  Both  teem  with  architectural  and  decorative 
motives.  The  Renaissance  painters  revelled  in  the  suggestions  of 
antiquity,  and  evolved  countless  combinations  of  column,  frieze, 
pilaster,  arch,  arabesque,  and  garland  from  their  inexhaustible 
fecundity.  There  was  but  one  style  of  architecture — that  derived 
from  Rome  — and  they  played  with  it  in  the  full  exuberance  of  their 
Italian  facility.  The  functions  of  painter  and  architect  were  fre- 
quently interchangeable,  and,  as  a result,  their  paintings  were 
strongly  imbued  with  the  architectural  feeling  for  structural  harmony, 
and  their  architecture  with  a pictorial  feeling  for  ornament.  Their 
field  was  limited  by  definite  bounds,  and  they  could  easily  cover  it. 

In  contrasting  the  training  of  the  modern  artist  with  that  of  ihe 
Renaissance,  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  follow  his  career  step  by  step, 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MURAL  PAINTER. 


127 


but  merely  to  signalize  certain  significant  variations.  No  one  for  a 
moment  will  suppose  that  any  training  however  elaborate,  can  ever 
supply  the  deficiencies  of  nature.  From  childhood  we  have  been 
told  that  the  artist  is  born.  This  idea  is  so  deeply  rooted,  that  as  a 
corollary  to  it,  many  illogieally  believe  in  the  laisser  alter  system  of  ed- 
ucation, i.  e.,  no  education  at  all.  It  would  be  irrelevant  to  discuss 
here  whether  such  a system  could  produce  an  accomplished  land- 
scape, or  still-life  painter,  but  I strenuously  hold  that  it  can  never 
produce  a figure,  much  less  a mural  painter.  Monumental  work 
must  be  grammatical.  The  phenomenal  success  of  men  like  Michael 
Angelo,  Raphael,  Titian,  or  Rubens  must  be  attributed  in  a great 
measure  to  the  exact  equilibrium  maintained  between  their  invention 
and  execution.  The  predominance  of  the  former  marks  the  amateur; 
of  the  latter  the  professional  hack.  The  curriculum  of  the  mural 
painter  is  identical  with  that  of  the  easel-picture  painter,  but  must 
be  supplemented  with  other  exercises.  Both  should  be  thoroughly 
versed  in  the  chemistry  of  their  craft  (which  they  are  not)  ; but  be- 
sides the  normally  prescribed  studies,  the  mural  painter  should  be 
thoroughly  conversant  with  architectural  and  decorative  forms,  as 
well  as  with  all  the  material  conditions  that  concern  his  department. 
In  penning  these  lines,  the  American  student  is  uppermost  in  my 
thoughts,  though  much  that  is  here  written  is  equally  applicable  to 
students  across  the  seas.  There  are,  however,  unpretending  schools 
in  foreign  lands,  especially  in  Italy,  that  fulfil  many  of  their  techni- 
cal duties  to  the  would-be  mural  painter,  as  is  evinced  by  the  mechan- 
ical excellence  of  numerous  monumental  works.* 1 

Very  different  with  us  are  the  relations  between  master  and  pupil, 
than  they  were  in  Cennini’s  day.  Instead -of  an  authority  almost  pa- 
ternal on  the  one  hand,  filial  obedience  on  the  other,  and  an  intimacy 
quite  equal  to  that  of  kinship  on  both,  there  are  ill-defined  connec- 
tions of  the  loosest  description.  Too  frequently  self-assertion  and 
distrust  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  are  met  by  the  master’s  indifference. 
This  is  a logical  result  of  the  temporariness  of  their  contract.  Pupils 
run  after  a teacher  till  fashion  ousts  him,  and  then  follow  the  fashion. 
Constant  change  of  master  is  exceedingly  detrimental,  especially  in 

JI  can  personally  attest  the  excellent  mechanical  results  of  the  instruction 
at  the  little  school  of  Siena,  which  has  doubtless  its  counterparts  in  other  towns. 

I saw  several  of  the  advanced  pupils  practising  on  the  wall  of  a little  chapel  in 
the  Campo  Santo,  wher*-their  professor  was  frescoing.  Owing  to  his  courtesy, 
as  already  stated,  I was  permitted  to  experiment  with  them.  Maccari,  a grad- 
uate of  the  school,  painted  some  first-rate  frescos  in  the  Sud  rio  at  Rome, 
though  less  transparent,  perhaps,  than  the  old  work.  I refer  purely  to  tech- 
nique. We  know  that  Italian  art  is  not  what  it  was,  though  by  no  meaus  so  con- 
temptible as  many  would  have  us  believe. 


128 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


the  earlier  stages  of  development.  Every  new  pedagogue  lias  always 
something  new  to  preach,  and  were  the  novelty  that  comes  with  every 
change  the  desideratum,  the  pupil  would  remain  a pupil  till  death  in- 
tervened. The  master  should  be»chosen  in  the  first  place  with  judg- 
ment and  under  advice;  then  liis  beneficent  counsels  should  be  al- 
lowed full  time  to  bear  fruit.  When  the  foundation  of  his  education 
has  been  solidly  laid,  the  tyro  will  be  less  distracted  by  seeing  and 
hearing  strange  things.  The  superstructure  may  be  greatly  embel- 
lished by  precious  fragments  culled  here  and  there.  How  the  assim- 
ilative Raphael  profited  by  the  examples  of  Leonardo,  Michael  An- 
gelo, Fra  Bartolommeo  and  others  in  his  first  free  years  ! Yet  such 
influences  might  have  only  distracted  him,  and  proved  anything  but 
beneficial  when  under  the  tutelage  of  Perugino.  A young  pupil  is 
not  capable  of  judging  for  himself,  and,  if  a free  agent,  will  change 
instructors  with  the  seasons.  There  is  little  analogy  between  the  dis- 
cipline of  our  methodical  professional  schools  and  colleges,  which 
turn  out  excellent  material,  and  the  elastic  regulations  of  our  anoma- 
lous art  schools,  which  may  be  entered  without  preliminary  require- 
ments, and  for  a brief  or  protracted  period.  Few  of  the  latter  have 
any  real  hold  on  their  pupils.  The  private  ateliers  are  scarcely 
worth  mentioning ; they  are  chiefly  recruited  from  the  amateurs,  and 
their  whole  tenor  is  unprofessional.  It  is  the  misfortune  of  many 
able  artists  that  they  are  driven  by  necessity  to  take  pupils  without 
discrimination.  The  public  or  quasi-public  schools  have  an  irresisti- 
ble attraction  to  the  serious  pupil  in  this,  as  in  other  countries ; for 
centralization  is  the  tendency  of  the  day,  and  the  greater  the  pity, 
since  the  fierce  rivalry  of  the  private  ateliers  is  a wholesome  stimu- 
lant to  pupil  and  art,  saving  both  from  a dreary,  official  monotony. 
But  while  it  is  true  that  there  is  a general  tendency  to  uniformity  of 
method,  to  the  foundation  of  large  central  schools  moulded  on  a com- 
mon model,  and  to  the  unintentional  suppression  of  the  private  ate- 
lier, within  those  establishments  there  is  anything  but  unity.  Art 
schools  differ  so  radically  from  other  schools  that  there  can  be  but  little 
analogy  between  their  respective  polities.  Discipline  in  both  is  essen- 
tial, in  order  to  inculcate  the  means  of  artistic  or  literary  expression. 
But  here  the  analogy  ceases.  The  range  of  studies  in  the  latter  is  so 
varied,  that  specialists  are  needed  to  interpret  them,  even  did  a limited 
number  of  pupils  permit  the  supremacy  of  one  instructor.  From  the 
very  diversity  of  their  specialties,  these  separate  units  work  in  harmony 
and  form  an  homogeneous  whole,  either  under  the  control  of  an  indi- 
vidual, or  body  of  men  who  give  it  the  necessary  stability.  Though  this 


Minerve  elevant  le  Genie  vers  I’Empyree  ’ (Drawing  in  black  and 
white  for  a Ceiling)  by  Prud’hon  (1760-1825) 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MURAL  PAINTER. 


129 


polity  obtains  in  a less  degree  in  our  art  schools,  nevertheless  it  obtains, 
with  a strong  tendency  to  develop  in  the  same  direction.  But  in  no  de- 
partment of  human  culture  is  the  need  of  a dominating  personality 
so  imperative  as  in  aesthetics.  There  should  be  no  such  thing  as  un- 
belief for  the  pupil  in  the  earlier  stages  of  his  evolution,  faith  and 
enthusiasm  being  as  essential  to  him  as  to  the  catechumen;  without 
them  consistent  progress  would  be  impossible,  for  there  would  be 
nothing  to  build  upon.  Consequently  in  matters  of  taste,  and  espec- 
ially of  interpretation,  there  should  be  but  one  supreme  authority  for 
the  beginner.  Is  this  generally  the  case?  By  no  means;  for  we 
have  one  master  for  the  life,  another  for  the  portrait,  a third  for  the 
antique — purely  arbitrary  divisions  of  one  and  the  same  thing.  (Or, 
perhaps,  the  pupil  to  benefit,  as  he  fancies,  by  the  advice  of  many, 
and  to  extract  the  little  good  lie  may  find  in  each,  goes  to  one  day- 
school  and  another  night-school.)  To  work  in  unison  the  masters 
must  be  offshoots  from  the  same  parent  stem ; but  too  often  they 
hold  antagonistic  doctrines,  which,  however  interesting  and  sound 
they  may  be  per  se,  when  preached  in  concert  craze  the  poor  pu- 
pil, who  has  not  always  the  power  to  discriminate  between  differ- 
ences that  arc  real,  and  those  that  are  only  apparent.  Nothing 
but  doubt  and  perplexity  can  result  from  such  conflicting  tenets. 
Certain  auxiliary  studies,  involving  neither  taste  nor  interpretation, 
as  anatomy,  perspective  and  the  like,  may  be  advantageously  pursued 
with  specialists;  but  such  studies  only.  To  make  matters  still  worse 
these  conflicting  elements  are  often  under  the  control  not  of  one  strong, 
confident  character,  who  might  give  unity  to  a body  even  so  hetero- 
geneous, but  of  a committee  (what  an  innate  love  we  have  to  govern 
by  committees !)  which  is  often  made  up  of  conflicting  elements,  and 
not  infrequently  recruited  from  laymen,  who,  however  conscientious 
they  may  be,  are  generally  without  convictions,  and  hence  timid.  So 
that  to  the  evil  naturally  resulting  from  such  a government  is  added 
a general  feeling  of  instability  and  temporariness  that  unsettles  and 
cools  both  instructor  and  pupil. 

Another,  and  perhaps  the  greatest  objection  to  the  public-school 
system  (and  I must  denominate  all  schools  public  that  are  not  abso- 
lutely under  the  control  of  the  artist-instructor,  even  though  a fee  be 
exacted),  is  the  perfunctory  nature  of  the  relations  between  teacher 
and  taught.  No  man,  much  less  an  artist,  can  advantageously  teach 
those  who  are  not  in  sympathy  with  him.  He  is  congealed  at  once. 
No  pupil  can  profit  by  the  counsels  of  a master  whom  he. disapproves 
— and  young  America  does  not  keep  his  disapprobation  in  the  back- 


130 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


ground.  The  very  traits  that  have  raised  him  high  in  some  pursuits, 
have  retarded  him  in  the  fine  arts,  where  the  discipline  is  lax,  and 
the  restraints  insignificant.  There  is  much  in  art  that  is  the  result 
of  accumulated  experience,  and  must  be  learned  from  the  experi- 
enced, a fact  very  difficult  for  the  scholar  to  comprehend.  He  is 
far  too  prone,  owing  to  the  lack  of  sympathy  and  confidence  be- 
tween himself  and  master,  to  be  led  by  the  few  hectoring  pupils  that 
are  found  in  every  school-room,  rather  than  by  his  preceptor.  These 
conclusions  may  seem  harsh  and  unflattering,  but  if  true,  why  con- 
ceal them?  The  personal  experience  of  many  years  as  an  instructor 
in  a semi-public  school,  and  of  several  in  an  atelier  — not  to  mention 
the  experience  as  a pupil — has  forced  me  to  them.  Yet  candor  and 
affection  compel  me  to  state  that  I have  met  with  a number  of  ardent 
and  intelligent  exceptions.  The  experience  of  others  may  not  tail}' 
with  my  own ; but  these  pages  do  not  pretend  to  infallibility ; and  as 
knowledge  is  the  result  of  all  experience,  I contribute  my  own,  trust- 
ing that  the  complement  may  be  forthcoming.  This  state  of  things 
is  not  peculiar  to  our  own  country.  I should  be  very  reluctant  to 
disparage  the  French  system  of  education,  either  on  my  own  testi- 
mony, or  on  that  of  my  compatriots ; yet  the  following  significant 
words  from  an  eulogistic  review  1 of  Hippolyte  Flandrin’s  mural 
paintings  in  Saint-Germain  des  Pres,2  though  published  in  1862,  cer- 
tainly corroborate  what  I saw  for  myself  a decade  later,  and  what  has 
very  recently  been  reported  to  me  by  reliable  students.  “ No  more  self- 
denial,  no  more  modesty  on  the  part  of  the  pupils,  no  more  devotion 
on  the  part  of  the  masters ; or  rather  there  are  no  more  masters  and 
no  more  pupils.  In  vain  f look  for  schools  of  painting;  since  we 
must  be  careful  not  to  designate  by  such  a name  those  school-rooms 
in  which  a greater  or  less  number  of  young  people  are  gathered 
about  a sorry  model,  that  they  dare  to  call  nature.  There  is  no  in- 
struction worthy  of  a master  in  such  places,  no  initiative,  no  action 
on  the  mind  of  the  pupils,  no  community  of  work  among  them,  no 
true  affection,  frequently,  even,  no  sympathy  in  their  way  of  seeing. 
There  is  a cold  professor  who  passes  among  indifferent  pupils  doling 
out  to  them  from  time  to  time  some  common-place  advice.  Where 
are  the  great  intellects  about  which  other  intellects,  eager  to  learn, 
formerly  clustered  ? Where  is  the  benevolent  guardianship  of  former 


1 A.  Gruver,  Gazette  des  Beaux- Arts,  Mars,  1862.  See  also,  a brochure  by  M.  H. 
Lecoq  de  Boisbaudran,  entitled,  Coup  d’ceil  sur  V Enseignement  des  Beatix-Arts. 
Paris,  1872. 

2 The  medium  used  for  these  paintings  was  the  huile  cirS  (oil  and  wax)inventod 
by  Baron  Taubenheim. 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MURAL  PAINTER. 


131 


days?  Where  is  the  docility,  the  devotion,  the  loyalty,  of  the  pu- 
pils? Where  is  that  communion  of  principles  and  ideas  that  cre- 
ated great  works  ? The  weak  leave  these  pretended  schools  with 
a routine  that  soon  chokes  them,  and  from  which  the  strong  emanci- 
pate themselves  with  great  difficulty.  All  await  impatiently  the  hour 
of  deliverance,  happy  moment  when  they  can  shake  off  the  academic 
yoke,  open  an  atelier,  dub  themselves  masters  in  their  turn,  and 
avenge  the  wrongs  done  them  by  their  former  instructors  on  their 
future  pupils.  We  forget  too  quickly  that  but  a few  chosen  ones 
can  raise  themselves  unaided  into  the  higher  spheres ; that  the 
taste  and  intelligence  requisite  to  follow  and  comprehend  the  evo- 
lutions of  genius  are  already  rare,  and  ought  to  satisfy  the  ambition 
of  men  of  talent,  and  that  there  is  danger  of  being  overwhelmed  in 
attempting  the  course  of  Phaethon.  Yet  never  has  the  practice  of  art, 
never  has  cleverness  been  wider  spread;  and  all  is  dispersing  in  vain 
smoke,  all  is  at  the  discretion  of  caprice  and  fashion.  Never  was  so 
much  spent  for  such  small  and  poor  returns.” 

“But  if  there  are  no  more  private  schools  where  brains  ferment, 
where  theories  freely  clash,  and  from  which  works  are  turned  out 
with  passion  to  uphold  sound  or  unsound  ideas,  at  least  we  have  offi- 
cial instruction.  The  palace  of  the  School  of  Fine  Arts  is  one  of  the 
most  splendid  in  our  capitol ; there  the  reproductions  of  the  chefs- 
d’oeuvre  of  all  ages  are  pompously  displayed,  and  it  is  impossible 
that  with  so  many  elements  of  instruction  men  of  taste  and  scholarly 
artists  should  not  be  formed.  Besides  is  it  not  inadmissible  that  in 
a country  so  completely  administered,  where  the  Government  con- 
trols celebrated  schools,  in  which  it  fits  its  youth  for  all  the  liberal 
professions,  the  law,  engineering,  the  army,  and  medicine,  there  should 
not  also  be  a school  wherein  architects,  sculptors  and  painters  are 
formed?  That  is  inadmissible ; nevertheless,  it  is  true.  Official  in- 
struction in  the  fine  arts  exists  but  nominally  in  France  ; the  walls 
of  the  school  are  admirably  adorned,  but  within  them  the  mind  of 
the  pupils  remains  empty.  The  professors — for  there  are  professors, 
and  very  celebrated,  too — . . . teach  the  scholars  neither  to  sculp- 
ture nor  to  paint,  still  less  to  compose  a group  or  a picture;  all  that 
doubtless  counts  as  a mere  accessory,  and  is  learned  perhaps  outside. 

. . . There  are,  then,  no  more  independent  schools  of  painting  in 
France,  that  is  to  say,  there  are  no  longer  doctrines  rallying  around  an 
illustrious  master  artists  determined  to  work,  fight,  and  give  their  lives 
for  the  defence  and  propagation  of  their  ideas ; nor  is  there  a public 
school  where  the  State  makes  good  the  loss  of  individual  force.  . . . 


132 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


Assuredly,  ’tis  a sweeter  task  to  adorn  a boudoir  than  to  contribute 
to  the  majesty  of  a temple ; but  as  decorative  painting  has  had  its 
being  in  all  ages,  as  it  is  and  always  should  be  the  true  painting  for 
masters,  it  is  evident  that  art  cannot  be  too  much  encouraged  in  this 
direction.” 

Apropos  of  French  instruction,  I have  heard  competent  authorities 
bitterly  complain  that  pupils  too  frequently  denied  their  real  master 
— some  nameless,  unribboned,  worthy  man  of  the  provinces,  per- 
haps — and  entered  for  a brief  period  the  atelier  of  a Parisian  nota- 
bility, merely  to  profit  by  his  name  and  fame.  How  many  artists  — 
not  from  France  alone  — figure  in  dictionaries  and  catalogues  as  pu- 
pils of  this  or  that  celebrity,  who  would  scarcely  recognize  them  were 
they  to  meet ! Yet  these  same  artists  are  well  aware  that  they  owe 
everything  to  masters  more  devoted,  more  efficient,  but  less  widely 
known  ; whose  names,  forsooth,  must  be  suppressed,  because  they 
would  make  but  dingy  appendages  to  their  own  on  the  official  list. 
The  tails  to  their  kites  must  be  flexible,  long,  and  sufficiently  weighty 
to  steer  them  upwards  to  success.  Such  denials  render  our  cata- 
logues practically  useless  for  educational  inferences. 

Before  dismissing  this  weighty  question  of  the  mutual  attitude  of 
master  and  pupil,  a modern  tendency  very  pertinent  to  it  should  be 
briefly  noted,  a tendency  which  Hamerton  has  emphasized  in  his 
comparison  of  the  actual  paternal  and  filial  relations  with  those  of 
the  past,  and  that  is  the  growing  reluctance  on  the  part  of  the  parent 
— and  I will  add,  master  — to  issue  the  word  of  command,  trusting 
and  preferring  that  the  son — or  pupil— may  be  prompted  to  the  right 
by  his  own  free  impulse,  or  if  to  the  wrong,  that  time  and  salutary  ex- 
perience may  mend  and  more  than  mend  the  error.  This  is  partly 
due  to  the  reaction  from  the  stern  and  disciplinary  past,  and  is  partly 
the  result  of  certain  social  and  ethical  revolutions  that  cannot  be  dis- 
cussed here.  That  this  unwillingness  to  control  the  minor  exists  is 
very  evident,  and  is  not  without  its  embarrassing  consequences  in  the 
training  of  art  students. 

In  considering  the  qualifications  of  the  modern  artist  for  the  wall, 
we  must  not  ignore  his  accomplishments — his  fine  and  subtle  feeling 
for  nature ; his  marvellous  faculty  for  rendering  surfaces ; his  power 
of  synthesis,  of  summarily  expressing  in  a few  telling,  loose,  and 
studiedly  vague  strokes,  life,  and  earth  and  air;  his  power  of  analy- 
sis, that  enables  him  to  interpret  almost  photographically  the  minute 
details  of  tangled  reality  ; his  love  for  the  effective  picturesque  ; his 
delight  in  open  air  — all  these  faculties  and  feelings  have  made  him 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MURAL  PAINTER. 


133 


a great  landscape-painter,  not  as  was  stately  Claude,  with  his  formal 
arrangement  of  temple,  tree,  plain  and  mountain  ; or  Poussin,  or  Sal- 
vator, but  as  a free  and  unconventional  lover  of  rusticity.  It  may 
be  questioned  whether  the  out-of-door  feeling  — la  peinture  de  plein 
air — is  a great  gain;  whether  the  essence  of  it,  all  that  could  be 
assimilated  by  art,  was  not  utilized  long  ago  by  the  Italian  frescoists 
and  the  dross  rejected ; whether  many  great  men  did  not,  and  do  not 
still,  avowedly  reject  the  whole  of  it  on  high  artistic  grounds ; yet 
whether  these  are  facts  or  not,  it  may  be  safely  averred  that  we  are 
intimate  with  nature  now  as  we  never  have  been  before,  that  our  hori- 
zon is  thereby  vastly  extended,  and  that  our  close  and  conscientious 
observation  of  man  and  his  surroundings  is  a rectifying  agent  of 
inestimable  value.  The  mischief  is  done  when  nature  is  made  the. 
end,  not  the  means,  an  error  we  are  too  prone  to  commit ; yet  mis- 
takes and  excesses,  much  as  we  may  deplore  and  endeavor  to  avoid 
them,  are  the  almost  inevitable  concomitants  of  all  great  revolutions. 
For  our  consolation  let  us  bear  in  mind  that  epochs  of  realism  have 
usually  preceded  still  greater  epochs  of — I will  not  say  idealism,  for 
that  word,  first-rate  though  it  be,  is  just  now  in  disrepute  — but  of 
art.  Something  great  will  surely  be  the  result  of  our  daily  friction 
with  nature.  By  a closer  study  of  it,  Giotto,  the  great  reformer 
(1276-1337),  shattered  the  hieratic  conventionalism  of  Byzantium, 
and  regenerated  an  effete  art,  which,  now  ebbing  with  his  stolid 
imitators,  now  calmly  manifesting  itself  in  the  beatific  but  excep- 
tional inspiration  of  an  Angelico  (1387-1455),  now  rising  again 
with  artists  who  turned  once  more  to  Nature,  such  as  Massaccio 
(1401-1428),  Donatello  (1386-1468),  and  the  brothers  Van  Eyck  in 
Germany  (from  1366  to  1441),  finally  culminated  in  the  glorious  age 
_ of  Leonardo,  MichaeL. Angelo,  Raphael  and  Titian.  Who  cannot  re- 
member, on  painted  wall  or  panel,  the  sweet,  pious,  naive,  every-day 
faces  of  winged  angels  (those  of  Benozzo  Gozzoli  [1420-1497?]  for 
instance),  that  lend  them  that  ineffable, childlike  charm;  or  the  life- 
like burghers,  passive  spectators  of  some  great  drama ; or  the  ani- 
mated busts  of  heroes  and  scholars,  characterized  even  to  ugliness ; or 
again,  the  spare  legs  and  spider-like  arms  of  a David  ora  Precursor? 
Yet  all  this  realism  was  tempered  by  an  inherited  aptitude  and 
respect  for  design  and  composition,  as  well  as  by  a passion  for  the 
antique.  Following  this  modified  realism  came  the  generation  of  the 
demi-gods.  Never  was  there  a nicer  adjustment  between  the  real 
and  the  ideal;  and  how  difficult  this  adjustment!  One  step  too  far 
from  the  real  — or  rather  the  vulgar  real  — and  there  yawns  the 


134 


MURAL  TAINTING. 


ehasm  of  conventionalism,  into  which  the  successors  of  the  demigods 
plunged.  These  god-like  men  give  us  the  type  rather  than  the  individ- 
ual, except  in  the  portrait  (and  even  this  is  monumentally  simplified)  ; 
chosen,  not  haphazard  forms ; nature,  at  her  best,  but  always,  always 
nature.  However  ideal  the  forms  may  be,  they  are  founded  on  some 
suggestion,  even  though  slight,  from  the  real.  One  has  only  to  look 
over  the  portfolio  of  a Raphael  to  be  convinced.  A little  sketch 
from  a fellow  pupil  will  blossom  as  an  exquisite  angel;  some  bald- 
pated,  ill-looking  acquaintance,  as  a stately  philosopher ; yet  neither 
saint  nor  philosopher  would  have  that  life-like  ring  had  they  been 
evolved  purely  from  the  imagination,  and  certain  vital  characteris- 
tics been  ignored.  This  constant  reference  to  nature  saved  these  great 
painters  from  the  cold,  plastic  academism  of  later  days,  while  their 
idealism,  which  is  nothing  more  at  its  best  than  rendering  nature  in 
her  choicest  garb,  rescued  them  from  the  naive,  unselected,  and  some- 
times amusing  individualism  (which  had  its  charm)  of  their  predeces- 
sors. At  the  same  time  it  made  them  the  monarchs  of  monumental 
painting,  which  despotically  exacts,  ennobled,  purified  and  rhythmical 
forms. 

And  what  does  our  unconventional  rusticity,  or  our  supreme 
faculty  to  immortalize  the  meanest  thing  in  its  meanest  garb  avail  us 
for  the  wall?  What  our  boasted  neglect  of  balanced  form  and 
beauty  of  line  for  an  art  that  especially  calls  for  equilibrium  of  mass 
and  harmony  of  contour?  Of  what  advantage  is  picturesqueness  to 
the  artist  whose  chief  aim  is  to  avoid  the  accidental?  Wherein  does 
looseness  of  handling,  or  the  broken  line  benefit  the  man  who  is  ever 
striving  to  express  himself  with  decision?  For  definition  is  as  essen- 
tial to  mural  painting  as  the  omission  of  it  is  to  the  truthful  render- 
ing on  canvas  of  variegated  earth,  mobile  water,  and  glistening  air. 
What  does  our  photographic  translation  of  nature’s  complexities 
bring  to  monumental  interpretation,  which  enforces  suppression  of 
detail?  Our  out-of-door  sympathies  give  us  one  thing  — light;  for 
though  decorative  painting  must  always  conform  to  its  surroundings, 
which  often  necessitate  rich  and  low-toned  harmonies,  yet,  as  a rule, 
circumstances  more  frequently  exact  light  and  airy,  than  heavy  and 
sombre  tones.  Nevertheless  it  is  the  stern  duty  of  monumental 
painting,  even  in  rendering  out-of-door  effects,  to  suppress  the  count- 
less, incalculable,  and  often  confusing  eccentricities  of  direct, 
reflected  or  diffused  light,  and  to  give  a strong — perhaps  stronger — 
impression  of  plein  air,  by  a discreet  elimination. 

Thus  the  studio  practice  of  the  model  n artist  aids  him  but  little 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MURAL  PAINTER. 


135 


when  he  transfers  his  talents  to  the  wall.  He  may  have  been  thor- 
oughly exercised  in  monumental  composition,  but  the  chances  are 
against  it;  neither  has  his  school  nor  subsequent  practice  acquainted 
him  with  architectural  and  decorative  forms.  His  knowledge  of  the 
chemical  and  physical  changes  to  which  colors  are  liable,  of  the  con- 
structive details  and  necessities  of  walls  and  plaster  is  absolutely  nil , 


From  a Drawing  by  Raphael. 

and  his  technique  is  diametrically  opposed  to  that  of  mural  paint- 
ing. As  a rule,  his  sporadic  efforts  on  the  wall  have  not  been 
crowned  with  success ; for  they  have  either  borne  the  stamp  of  vast 
easel-pictures,  or,  as  previously  observed,  have  overstepped  the 
mark,  and  been  characterized  by  an  almost  primitive  rudeness. 

I cannot  refrain  from  quoting  here  some  very  pertinent  lines  by 
Eugene  Muntz  ( Etudes  sur  VHistoire  de  la  Peinture,  Paris,  1886): 
“It  is  to  the  amateurs  that  the  modern  painters  address  themselves; 


136 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


it  is  by  the  refinements  of  drawing  and  coloring  that  they  captivate  us, 
rather  than  by  the  depth  of  their  convictions.  Individual  fancy  has 
replaced  those  emphatic  rules  that  furnished  to  early  Christian  as  well 
as  to  Mediaeval  art  the  motive  of  its  being  and  its  striking  air  of  neces- 
sity.” When  it  is  remembered  that  the  very  best  men  in  those  days 
decorated  church,  palace,  and  public  hall,  while  our  best  men  paint 
for  collectors,  the  sympathy  between  the  former  and  their  public, 
and  the  lack  of  it  between  the  latter  and  our  public  can  readily  be 
comprehended. 

It  may  be  supposed  that  a special  training,  less  long,  less  laborious, 
and  more  special,  might  with  advantage  be  substituted  for  the  ordi- 
nary routine  of  the  art-student.  Perhaps  for  the  lower  and  more 
mechanical  phases  of  decoration,  yes ; but  not  for  the  monumental 
painter,  or  for  any  decorator  who  hopes  to  stamp  his  work  with  his 
own  personality,  or  to  add  one  jot  to  pre-existent  knowledge.  The 
uninspired  and  shopworn  decorative  work — figure,  floral  or  geometri- 
cal— that  passes  muster  as  art,  is  too  well  known  to  require  elaborate 
condemnation.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  such  work  is  the  result  of  a 
special,  mechanical  training,  unsupported  by  those  severe  and  labo- 
rious studies  from  life  and  nature  which  are  the  only  true  and  pos- 
sible source  of  fresh  inspiration.  There  is  no  short  cut ; the  decora- 
tor must  be  as  conversant  with  vital  form  and  color  as  the  painter  of 
the  easel-picture,  if  he  expects  to  create.  That  these  studies,  as 
usually  conducted,  can  be  amended  and  supplemented  is  true  enough; 
for  they  are  neither  all-sufficient,  nor  at  times  rational ; yet,  as  I 
have  before  observed,  it  is  not  my  purpose,  at  least  for  the  present, 
to  examine  seriatim  the  educational  methods  now  in  vogue.  There 
is,  however,  one  defect  in  them  so  apposite  to  the  matter  in  hand 
that  it  cannot  be  blinked.  We  all  know  how  much  time  and  inge- 
nuity are  spent  on  elaborate  life-drawings.  Such  exercises  in  moder- 
ation are  not  fruitless;  yet  many  a clumsy  hand  can  stump  or  scrub 
his  way  up  to  a highly-finished  representation  of  the  cast  or  life  with 
a week’s  labor,  who  cannot  possibly  translate  the  same  in  a few  sug- 
gestive, logical,  and  inerasable  lines.  In  other  words,  such  work, 
however  useful  it  may  be,  is  not  enough,  and  unless  fortified  by  other 
exercises,  it  would  never  teach  a pupil  to  draw. 

Now  what  the  mural  painter  most  needs  is  the  power  to  delineate 
objects,  at  rest  or  in  action,  promptly,  broadly,  and  intelligently.  He 
must  not  only  be  able  to  portray  what  he  sees,  but  he  must  know  what 
he  sees.  His  sketches  must  be  rapid  and  to  the  point,  his  final  draw- 
ing and  brushing  decisive  and  significant.  Plis  life  is  too  short  for 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MURAL  PAINTER. 


137 


tentative  outline  and  modelling.  Those  wonderful  drawings,  the  lega- 
cies of  the  old  masters,  tell  the  whole  story  far  more  eloquently  than 
I can.  Besides  these  things,  they  teach  us  that  the  faculty  for  repre- 
senting objects,  animate  and  inanimate,  from  the  imagination  should 
be  cultivated.  Not  only  is  this  faculty  requisite  in  order  to  improvise, 


'The  Glorification  of  the  Law.’  Ceiling  by  Paul  Baudry. 

to  fix  on  paper  or  canvas  the  “ first  thought,”  untainted  by  models, 
but  very  frequently,  also,  to  supply  their  deficiencies  and  limitations, 
both  as  to  form  and  action.  An  artist  who  is  dependent  on  his  model 
for  suggestions  cannot  hope  to  excel  in  an  art  whose  corner-stone  is 
fertility  of  invention  and  expression.  The  model  is  but  the  means  — 
the  precious  means  — that  saves  us  from  wearisome,  stereotyped  con- 
ventionalism. And  what  shall  be  said  of  the  use  of  the  photograph 


138 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


as  an  auxiliary  ? Assuredly,  it  has  its  purposes ; but  that  will  be  a 
fatal  day  to  artistic  expression,  when  the  photograph  supplants  skil- 
ful and.  inspired  draughtsmanship,  and  becomes  the  symbol  of  our  im- 
potence. 

Would  it  be  an  act  of  supererogation  to  say  that  the  mural  painter 
should  assiduously  glean  fresh  suggestions  from  nature?  that  he 
should  stock  his  sketch-books  with  memoranda  of  artistic  expression, 
as  well  as  with  the  countless  and  unexpected  revelations  of  the  Mfe 
about  him  ? that  his  memory  should  be  an  encyclopaedia  of  decora- 
tive motives?  Would  it  be  superfluous  to  state  that  he  should  be 
gifted  with  imagination,  with  the  power  of  seeing  clearly,  simply 
and  beautifully,  heroic  compositions,  and  that  he  should  be  born  with 
a feeling  for  rhythm?  Is  there  need  to  emphasize  the  necessity  of 
familiarizing  himself  with  the  immortal  works  of  the  great  decorators? 
For  in  truth  there  are  no  masters  equal  to  those  whose  reputations 
have  been  consecrated  by  time.  Without  some  knowledge  of  them 
no  education  is  complete.  Those  who  can,  should  travel  intelligently 
and  observantly,  in  the  land  of  mural  painting — in  Italy.  It  is  dis- 
couraging to  think  how  many  of  our  students  halt  in  Paris,  at  the 
portals  of  that  fair  country,  rich  in  artistic  treasure ; or  if  by  chance 
they  visit  her,  draw  inspiration  merely  from  her  superficial  pictu- 
resqueness. None  better  than  the  French  themselves  recognize  the 
supreme  importance  of  a careful  study  of  the  great  Italian  decora- 
tors. Did  not  Baud  -y  live  with  them  before  girding  himself  for  his  life- 
work  in  the  Opera?  Did  he  not  fortify  his  natural  talents  by  their 
example,  without  in  the  least  enslaving  them?  And,  finally,  it  is  but 
too  evident  that  men  who  are  suddenly  called  upon  to  suggest  fitting 
themes  for  given  places,  widely  differing  in  their  purposes,  should  en- 
rich their  minds,  if  not  with  many  — and  the  more  the  better  — at 
least  with  a few,  well-chosen,  literary  masterpieces.  Good  literature 
promotes  good  style. 

In  no  department  of  the  fine  arts  have  professionals  studied  and 
practised  more  intelligently  and  successfully  than  in  that  of  archi- 
tecture. The  very  nature  of  their  work  has  constrained  our  architects 
to  pursue  a methodical  course  of  instruction.  They  have  profited  by 
the  lessons  of  the  past,  without  being  trammelled  by  them,  and  have 
proved  that  a respect  for  tradition  is  not  prejudicial  to  consistent  de- 
velopment. They  have  distinctly  added  something  to  art,  and  to  our 
honor  be  it  noted  that  their  efforts  have  just  begun  to  attract  the 
merited  attention  of  their  foreign  confreres.  Not  that  they  are 
always  guiltless  of  solecisms  and  eccentricities;  not  that  they  have 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MURAL  PAINTER. 


139 


yet  adapted  themselves  satisfactorily  to  their  bewildering  environ- 
ments; nevertheless  they  are  working  systematically  in  the  right 
direction.  Their  brothers  of  the  brush  may  well  take  a hint  from 
their  methods  if  they  hope  to  keep  pace  with  them.  On  the  other 
hand  the  architects  can  do  much  to  encourage  the  painters,  and  at 
the  same  time  adorn  their  own  art  by  giving  them  the  opportunity 
that  church  and  state  gave  in  past  times,  and  in  other  lands  whose 
greatest  pictorial  triumphs  have  been  on  the  wall.  We  may,  for 
the  nonce,  be  ill-provided  with  practitioners,  but  the  occasion  will 
surely  raise  them.  If  the  training,  aims  and  technique  of  our  art- 
ists do  not  particularly  fit  them  for  monumental  painting,  these  can 
readily  be  amended  without  antagonism  to  the  spirit  of  the  age. 
There  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  greatly  profit  by  our  new. 
born  aspirations  and  methods,  if  they  be  consistently  controlled 
and  developed;  for  the  field  of  art  itself  and  the  means  of  expres- 
sion have  of  late  years  been  greatly  enlarged.  Our  feeling  for 
refined  and  delicate  combinations  of  color,  for  instance,  or,  more 
succinctly,  our  tone  perceptions  (acquired,  perhaps,  from  the  Eastern 
nations,  who  have  always  been  gifted  with  them),  are  infinitely  more 
sensitive  than  they  were  in  mediaeval  or  Grecian  days,  and  are  a 
precious  addition  to  our  artistic  repertory. 

No  one  can  have  failed  to  note  the  great  and  increasing  sympathy 
for  decoration  that  obtains  to-day;  misguided  and  illiterate  at  times, 
imperatively  exacting  the  new-fangled  products  of  artist  and  artisan, 
morbidly  craving  startling  combinations,  yet  withal  genuine.  This 
untutored  demand  and  supply,  this  yearning  to  satisfy  untrained  de- 
sires, may  account  in  part  for  the  dangerous  tendencies  of  our  deco- 
rators-, to  glorify  the  material  at  the  expense  of  art.  The  Greeks 
took  care  to  make  their  Yenuses  beautiful;  we  should  do  well  to  fol- 
low their  example.  Barbaric  splendor  can  never  be  a fit  substitute 
for  art.  May  we  soon,  too,  throw  off  the  malarious  garb  of  “ aesthet- 
icism ” that  we  have  borrowed  from  our  cousins  across  the  seas, 
who,  in  turn,  borrowed  it  from  a dead  past ; for  however  well  it  may 
become  them,  it  is  not  for  us.  Strange  that  a young  and  vigorous 
people  — a people  that  avowedly  abhors  the  unreal,  that  professes 
a sincere  cult  for  wholesome  nature  — should  people  their  canvases 
with  such  sickly  creations  ! Yet,  notwithstanding  these  defects  — 
and  they  are  defects  — I feel  inclined  to  hazard  the  same  remark 
about  our  decoration  which  I made  with  confidence  on  our  architec- 
ture, that  in  certain  departments  of  it,  at  least,  we  have  added  some- 
thing new  to  art. 


140 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


No  effort  has  been  made  in  these  chapters  to  draw  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  monumental  and  the  lower  phases  of  decora- 
tive painting,  since  they  fay  into  each  other.  The  latter,  moreover, 
are  the  almost  constant  auxiliaries  of  the  former,  and  the  same  brain 
must  conceive,  even  though  the  same  hand  does  not  execute  both. 
If  expense,  perchance,  should  not  always  permit  the  gratification  of 
our  taste  for  painted  epic,  we  can  at  least  indulge  in  less  lofty,  but 
thoroughly  artistic  and  grammatical  prose. 


'Entombment  of  St.  Catharine.’  Fresco  by  Bernardino  Luini.  1460-1530. 


NOTES. 


CHAPTER  I,  PAGE  1. 

“It  came  to  pass  that  these  Franks,  whom  the  Italians  continued 
to  treat  as  barbarians,  without  having  succeeded  in  arousing  an  artis 
tic  culture  comparable  to  that  of  Theodoric’s  time  [455-526],  at  last 
eclipsed  their  ultramontane  neighbors,  thanks  to  the  influence  of 
Charlemagne  [742-814].  We  especially  know  that  the  great  emperor 
of  the  Franks  made  it  obligatory  by  law  to  paint  the  whole  interior 
surface  of  churches.  His  emissaries  were  charged,  while  inspecting 
religious  edifices,  not  only  to  examine  the  condition  of  the  walls,  pave- 
ments, and  other  essential  features,  but  also  that  of  the  paintings 
( volumus  itaque  ut  missi  nostri  per  singulos  pagos  prcevidere  studeant 
. . . primum  de  ecclesiis , quomodo  slructce  aut  in  iectis,  in  maceriis, 
sive  in  parietibus,  sive  in  pavimentis , nec  non  in  pictura , eliarn  et  in 
luminariis,  sive  officiis').  Statutes,  several  times  reenacted,  settled  the 
manner  of  contributing  for  their  decoration.  If  for  a royal  church, 
the  clergy  and  neighboring  abbes  were  to  provide  the  means ; if  for  a 
beneficed  church,  the  incumbent.  When  the  emperor  caused  an  ora- 
tory to  be  erected,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  camps,  the  whole  surface 
of  the  walls  was  covered  with  pictures.  A church  was  not  deemed 
completed  till  it  had  received  this  kind  of  ornamentation.  Accord- 
ing to  the  French  doctors,  the  paintings  had  a two-fold  object  — to 
instruct  the  people,  and  to  embellish  the  monument.  Charlemagne 
meant  that  they  should  have  a third : to  obliterate  from  the  Saxons’ 
view,  by  an  extreme  magnificence,  the  richness  of  their  ancient  altars 
( Emeric-David , Histoire  de  la  Peinture  an  moyen  age , dd.  de  1863,  p. 
67,  68).  Thanks  to  this  enlightened  protection,  Franco-German  paint- 
ing soon  surpassed  the  Italian.” 

“But  the  superiority  of  Franco-German  art  did  not  last.  France, 
Switzerland,  and  Germany  were  in  turn  engulfed  by  the  rising  wave 
of  barbarism ; the  artificial  culture  created  by  Charlemagne  disap- 


142 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


peared  without  leaving  a trace ; in  the  second  half  of  the  ninth,  and 
during  the  whole  of  the  tenth,  there  were  still,  perhaps,  artists,  but 
assuredly  no  art.”  [Muntz,  Etudes  sue  VHistoire  de  la  Peinture.'] 


CHAPTER  I,  PAGE  2. 

To  convey  some  idea  of  the  esteem  in  which  monumental  painting 
was  held  in  Italy  during  the  Renaissance  (and  still  is 'held),  I give  an 
extract  from  the  “ Aretin ” of  Lodovico  Dolce  [1508-1568],  who  ranked 
high  among  the  literati  of  the  age  of  Clement  VII,  both  for  his  learn- 
ing and  taste. 

“And  who  does  not  know  how  much  painting  contributes  to  the 
beauty  and  elegance,  to  the  enriching,  embellishing,  and  ornamenting 
palaces,  and  other  noble  edifices,  though  adorned  with  statues,  busts, 
basso-relievos,  and  other  ornaments  of  architecture,  cabinets,  glass 
mirrors,  slabs,  and  tables  of  curious  marble,  porphyry,  and  other 
precious  stones,  Persian  carpets,  and  other  rich  and  elegant  furniture? 
These  appear  as  nothing  without  historical  and  other  paintings  and 
pictures  of  the  best  masters.  And  how  easy  is  it  to  discover  how 
much  superior,  and  how  far  more  pleasing,  the  grand  fronts  or  faij- 
ades  of  palaces  are,  when  painted  by  the  ablest  hands,  than  those  in- 
crusted  with  the  richest  marbles  or  porphyry,  though  variegated  with 
veins  of  gold.  The  same  may  be  said  of  churches  and  other  public 
edifices ; for  which  reason  the  popes  I have  named  as  patrons  of 
Raphael,  employed  him  in  painting  the  hall  and  chambers  of  the  pal- 
ace above  mentioned,  and  Michael  Angelo,  in  decorating  the  Church 
of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  at  Rome.  And  for  the  same  reason,  the 
best  masters  of  the  time  had  before  been  ordered  to  decorate  the 
Grand  Council-Chamber  (Venice)  with  their  paintings,  to  which  were 
afterwards  added  two  pictures  by  Titian  ; and  it  is  much  to  be 
wished  he  had  executed  the  whole.  Had  it  happily  been  so,  it  would 
now  have  been  one  of  the  most  admirable  and  beautiful  spectacles  in 
Italy.  The  same  reason  also  prevailed  when  George  da  Castelfranco 
[Giorgione,  1477-1511]  was  employed  in  adorning  the  German  office; 
but  that  part  which  respects  Mercury  was  painted  by  Titian  when  yet 
a youth.  Of  this  I shall  take  occasion,  before  I conclude,  to  speak 
further,  and  only  observe  here  that  the  neighboring  barbarous  and 
injldel  nations  are  by  their  religion,  the  fountain  of  all  their  laws, 
customs  and  manners,  strictly  forbid  all  representations  of  nature, 
whether  by  painting  or  sculpture,  or  any  other  device  whatever.” 
[English  translation,  London,  1770.] 


NOTES. 


143 


The  frescos  on  the  exterior  of  the  “ German  office  ” by  Giorgione 
and  Titian  have  almost  entirely  disappeared. 

CHAPTER  III. 

There  is  no  pretension  in  these  pages  to  archaeological  lore.  MM. 
Cros  and  Henry’s  solution  of  the  encaustic  enigma  has  been  pre- 
ferred and  given,  not  only  because  it  is  the  latest,  but  because,  in  the 
judgment  of  a practitioner,  it  is  the  most  complete  and  plausible  yet 
offered.  Their  erudition  may,  or  may  not,  be  on  a par  with  their 
technical  ingenuity ; but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  passages  on 
which  scholars  rely  for  the  true  explanation  of  the  mystery  are  pro- 
vokingly  insufficient,  and  until  something  more  definite  has  been  un- 
earthed we  must  accept  the  interpretation  that  best  accords  with  the 
technical  revelations  of  authentic  monuments  and  the  spirit  of  extant 
texts.  Recent,  and  experimental,  applications  of  polychromy  to  stat- 
uary made  in  Berlin,  have  re-opened  such  knotty  questions  as  how 
much  or  how  little,  and  in  what  manner,  did  the  ancients  color  their 
statues,  questions  that  do  not  concern  us  here.  It  has  sufficed  to 
quote  only  that  passage  which  is  relevant  to  our  subject — the  very 
explicit  statement  of  Vitruvius,  that  the  ancients  cauterized  their 
marble  statues,  to  protect  them  from  atmospheric  corrosion. 

CHAPTER  IX,  PAGE  88.  “ THE  ENGLISH  DELIGHTFUL  POETS.” 

“Some  one  has  remarked,”  says  Winkelmann,  [1717-1768],  “not 
without  reason,  that  the  poets  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain 
speak  through  images,  but  afford  few  pictures.”  [History  of  An- 
cient Art;  B.  I,  Chapter  III.] 

The  following  extracts  from  the  notes  by  the  English  translator 
[London,  1770]  of  Dolce’s  Aretin  are  appended  as  literary  curiosi- 
ties, certainly  not  for  their  critical  acumen.  The  closing  paragraphs 
— -ludicrous  as  they  now  seem  — augmented  as  they  might  be  by  an 
infinitude  of  cruel,  perverted,  and  (in  their  day)  honored  judgments 
are  eloquently  and  pathetically  suggestive.  Will  our  most  solemn  and 
authoritative  verdicts  be  quoted  for  the  merriment  of  posterity  ? Does 
man  ever  see  his  contemporaries  face  to  face? 

“ And  what  is  next  to  be  lamented  is  (which  from  physical  causes 
hath  been  endeavored  to  be  accounted  for),  that  true  genius  in  the 
liberal  arts  (as  well  as  the  sciences  and  the  art  of  government)  hath 
hitherto  been  confined  within  very  narrow  bounds,  and  seems  inca- 


144 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


pable  of  being  extended  much  farther  than  that  part  of  Europe 
and  its  confines  which  lies  between  thirty  and  forty-five  degrees  of 
North  latitude,  or  fifty-two  at  the  most,  and  between  eight  and  fifty- 
seven  degrees  East  longitude;  that  it  hath  never  extended  its  influ- 
ence farther  to  the  North,  nor  nearer  than  twenty-five  degrees  to  the 
Line.  Painting  and  sculpture  have  been  so  far  from  making  any 
progress  towards  the  North,  that  they  have  been  neglected  and  even 
despised  in  proportion  as  we  advance  northward,  to  the  fifty-eighth 
degree  of  North  latitude  only  ; ‘ insomuch  that  the  most  valuable  pieces 
of  Correggio  served  only  for  blinds  to  the  windows  of  the  royal  sta- 
bles at  Stockholm.’  ” 

“ ‘And  tho’  the  English  climate  hath  been  warm  enough  to  pro- 
duce a number  of  eminent  men  in  most  sciences  and  professions  ; and 
notwithstanding  the  great  munificence  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  Queen 
Elizabeth,  and  Charles  the  First  during  the  first  fifteen  years  of  his 
reign,  and  the  great  value  they  had  for  pictures,  and  the  encourage- 
ment given  by  Queen  Elizabeth  to  all  sorts  of  arts,  during  a reign  of 
near  fifty  years ; and  although  it  is  acknowledged  by  foreigners  that 
there  are  no  workmen  in  the  world  that  have  greater  beauty  in  tbe 
execution  than  the  English,  or  know  better  how  to  manage  their 
tools  ; and  though  England  hath  given  to  the  world  eminent  poets, 
yet  it  hath  not  produced  painters  who  have  been  able  to  attain  to 
that  taste  in  design  which  some  foreign  artists  have  brought  over  with 
them  to  England.’” 

“ The  same  hath  been  observed  of  France  ; that  ‘ although  Fran- 
cis the  First  was  one  of  the  most  zealous  protectors  that  the  arts  and 
sciences  could  ever  boast  of,  and  notwithstanding  the  friendship  and 
regard  he  shewed  to  Roux,  to  Andrea  del  Sarto,  to  Leonardo  da  Vinci 
(who  died  in  his  arms),  and  to  every  one  that  was  illustrious  for  tal- 
ent or  merit,  and  the  profusion  with  which  he  paid  for  the  pictures 
he  ordered  to  be  painted  for  him  by  Raphael ; and  through  his  lib- 
erality and  kind  reception  drew  numbers  of  eminent  men  into  France, 
and  his  bounties  were  bestowed  continually  on  the  possessors  of  this 
art  during  a reign  of  thirty-three  years;  yet  they  could  never  form 
an  eminent  painter  among  his  own  subjects.’  Vide  Reflections  on  the 
Painting  and  Sculpture  of  the  Greeks , translated  from  the  German 
original , of  the  Abbe  Winkelmann,  p.  1,  2,  and  Du  Bos’s  Reflexions 
Critiques  Sur  la  Poesie  et  la  Peinture .” 1 

“But  notwithstanding  the  above  observations  upon  the  climates  of 


1 “ France,  famed  in  all  great  arts,  in  none  supreme.” — Matthew  Arnold. 


S MR  CARET  A S THEODORA  S MARINA  S AFFRA 
CORTONENSIR 


S AGLAEA  S MARIA 


HEtlOTrFE  PRINTING  CD,  BOfTON. 


NOTES. 


145 


England  and  France,  and  the  seeming  discouragements  to  the  artists 
of  London  and  Paris  in  particular,  yet  since  the  time  Du  Bos  speaks 
of,  France  hath  produced  many  eminent  masters,  both  in  painting 
and  sculpture.”  After  mentioning  Nicholas  Poussin  (1594-1665), 
and  Le  Sueur  (1617-1655),  he  cites  “ Charles  Le  Brun,bornat  Paris, 
in  1619,  whose  painting  of  the  Family  of  Darius , which  is  at  Ver- 
sailles, is  not  surpassed  by  the  coloring  of  the  picture  of  Paul  Ver- 
onese, which  is  placed  over  against  it ; but  is  greatly  superior  to  it  in 
design,  composition,  dignity,  expression,  and  the  justness  of  the  cos- 
tume. The  prints  from  his  pictures  of  the  Battles  of  Alexander  are 
even  more  esteemed  than  the  Battles  of  Constantine , by  Raphael  and 
Julio  Romano.  He  died  in  1690.” 

“ It  is  very  remarkable,  also,  that  even  in  countries  capable  of  in- 
spiring every  kind  of  genius,  there  have  been  barren  ages,  in  which 
the  liberal  arts,  and  the  genius  that  produced  them,  declined  to  such 
a degree  as  to  seem  in  the  course  of  the  next  to  be  wholly  lost.” 

“ History  mentions  only  three  ages  in  which  they  have  arrived  to 
a degree  of  perfection  : That  to  which  we  owe  their  first  rise,  and 
commenced  ten  years  before  the  reign  of  Philip,  the  father  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  in  which  they  obtained  their  highest  perfection; 
the  age  of  Augustus ; and  that  of  Julius  the  Second  and  Leo  the 
Tenth;  unless  that  which  commenced  with  Poussin,  and  continued  to 
the  end  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV,  he  reckoned  as  a fourth , which  it 
justly  may,  though  not  so  general  as  any  of  the  former.  And  we  have 
reason  now  to  flatter  ourselves  with  the  pleasing  hope  that  the  reign 
of  his  present  Majesty  will  be  the  era  of  the  fifth , and  distinguished 
by  the  Age  of  George  the  Third.  True  Genius  in  the  liberal  arts 
seems  now  to  have  visited  this  island,  and  taken  up  her  residence 
among  us,  which  we  apparently  owe,  and  may  justly  be  ascribed 
(physical  causes,  of  which  we  can  only  judge  by  the  effects,  perhaps 
conspiring),  to  a Liberal  Society  formed  among  us,  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  Arts , and  for  other  laudable  and  very  valuable  purposes,  and 
the  patronage  and  munificence  of  our  truly  amiable  Monarch.”  [Who 
preferred  Benjamin  West  to  Joshua  Reynolds  !] 

In  his  preface  the  translator  remarks  : “Altho’  I wish  to  avoid  men- 
tioning living  artists  by  name,  that  I may  not  give  umbrage  to  any, 
yet,  lest  those  who  have  not  seen  our  exhibitions  should  esteem  this 
only  to  proceed  from  partiality,  and  a desire  of  making  the  state  of 
the  Arts  here  appear  other  than  it  really  is,  I cannot  help  producing, 
as  instances,  the  Regulus,  Jacob  blessing  Joseph’s  children,  Oleom- 
brotus,  &c.,  of  Mr.  West;  an  artist  whose  works  would  have  done 


146 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


honor  to  Rome,  even  in  the  time  of  Raphael  and  Titian.  The  ap- 
peal might  safely  be  lain  with  any  person  of  taste  and  judgment, 
whether  these  and  many  other  of  our  modern  works  do  not  fully  prove 
this  assertion.” 


I LLUSTRATIONS. 


1. 

THE  ‘ MUSE  OF  CORTONA  ’ (ENCAUSTIC). 

A description  of  this  painting  will  be  found  in  chap.  Ill,  p.  20. 

2 

‘THE  RESURRECTION’  (FRESCO)  BY  GIOTTO  (1276-1437),  ARENA 
CHAPEL,  PADUA. 

“ The  advent  of  the  gothic  style  resulted  in  the  overthrow  of  the 
Byzantine  school  and  its  congeners,  and  to  substitute  the  study  of  life 
for  the  quest  of  pomp  or  grandeur.  The  master  who  stamped  the 
new  tendencies  with  the  seal  of  perfection  was  an  Italian,  Giotto. 
This  revivalist  of  genius,  the  greatest  painter  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
based  his  reform  on  the  imitation  of  nature.  No  more  conventional 
scenes,  no  more  pompous  and  empty  formulas  ! Without  yet  pushing 
realism  so  far  as  to  give  to  Christ,  to  the  apostles,  to  the  saints,  the 
features  of  his  contemporaries,  Giotto  regenerates  his  types  by  a 
spirit  of  observation  which  forms  a complete  contrast  to  his  prede- 
cessors’ spirit  of  abstraction.  He  is  the  first  to  rediscover  the  struc- 
tural laws  of  the  human  body,  and  those  of  its  movement.  We  are 
no  longer  confronted  by  conventional  figures,  but  by  men,  living  the 
life  that  is  peculiar  to  them.  Landscape  resumes  its  rights.  Finally, 
the  representation  of  the  episodes  of  sacred  history  abounds  in  snatches 
from  life,  now  spiritual,  now  pathetic.  So  many  conquests  would 
have  sufficed  to  immortalize  the  name  of  Giotto.  But  the  founder  of 
the  Florentine  school  has  still  greater  claims.  His  compositions 
reveal  a dramatic  feeling  which  ought  to  have  made  Michael  Angelo 
and  Raphael  jealous.  Force  of  expression,  eloquence  of  attitude  and 
gesture  have  never  been  carried  further.  What  could  be  more 
moving  than  Saint  Francis  defying  the  false  doctors,  than  the  sisters 
of  Lazarus  at  the  feet  of  Christ  1 ” 

“ Giotto  was  philosopher  as  well  as  dramaturgist ; I mean  that  he  was 
an  artist  who  knew  how  to  translate  into  his  own  language  the  most 


148 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


abstract  ideas.  Through  his  instrumentality  allegory  enters  into  reli- 
gious painting,  and  regenerates  it.  His  frescos  open  the  series  of  those 
grand  compositions  which  for  more  than  a century  are  to  make  the 
reputation  of  Italy,  the  Triumph  of  Faith  and  Poverty,  the  Triumph 
of  Chastity  and  Fame,  the  Triumph  of  St.  Francis,  of  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas,  of  Charlemagne,  etc.,  etc.  By  the  power  of  their  concep- 
tion, the  beauty  of  their  arrangement,  the  richness  of  their  details, 
these  noble  pages,  that  can  be  admired  even  to-day  at  Florence, 
Siena,  Pisa,  Assisi,  Naples,  Avignon,  etc.,  etc.,  remained  as  inimita- 
ble models  till  the  moment  when  Raphael  created  the  Dispute  of  the 
Holy  Sacrament  and  the  School  of  Athens.’' 

“ In  this  ensemble , half  theological,  half  philosophical,  so  vigorously 
conceived  and  elaborated  under  the  direct  influence  of  Giotto’s  friend, 
Dante,  there  was  no  place  for  secular  representations ; so  that  in  the 
work  of  Giotto  we  must  neither  look  for  scenes  borrowed  from  ancient 
or  contemporaneous  history,  nor  for  genre  subjects,  nor  for  portraits. 
Even  his  easel  pictures  are  rare.  Such  grandiose  conceptions  demand 
the  repose  and  breadth  of  fresco.” — Eugene  Muntz,  Etudes  sur  VHis- 
toire  de  la  Peinture. 

After  this  succinct  and  comprehensive  estimate  of  Giotto’s  genius 
scarcely  anything  remains  to  be  said.  As  a mere  matter  of  detail, 
one  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  beauty  of  the  women  in  the 
Arena  frescos.  How  sweet,  in  the  accompanying  illustration,  is  the 
woman-faced  angel  in  the  centre!  Considering  their  age,  these 
frescos  are  remarkably  well  preserved. 

3. 

4 A£NEAS  PICCOLOMINI  CREATED  CARDINAL  BY  POPE  CALIXTUS  III’ 
(FRESCO)  BY  PINTURICCHIO  (1454-1513).  LIBRARY,  SIENA. 

This  fresco  forms  one  of  a series  by  Pinturicchio,  representing  the 
principle  events  in  the  life  of  Pius  II  (iEneas  Sylvius  Piccolomini). 
Like  many  other  Sienese  frescos,  they  are  still  wonderfully  fresh  and 
sound,  as  the  heliotype  testifies,  though  it  is  less  perfect  than  the 
photograph.  [See  chap.  IX,  p.  87.] 

4. 

4 ERYTHRjEAN  SIBYL  ’ (FRESCO)  BY  MICHAEL  ANGELO  (1474-1564). 

SISTINE  CHAPEL,  ROME. 

The  genius  of  Michael  Angelo  and  the  Sistine  frescos  have  been 
exhaustively  treated  by  brilliant  pens.  Wilson,  who  has  already 
been  quoted  several  times,  gives  in  his  4 Life  of  Michael  Angelo  ’ a 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


145* 

luminous  technical  description,  most  valuable  to  the  student,  of  the 
Sistine  vault.  This  illustration  is  introduced,  not  only  as  a specimen 
of  a giant’s  craft  in  the  palmiest  days  of  mural  painting,  but  also  to 
exemplify  that  nicety  of  adjustment  between  the  real  and  the  ideal, 
to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  chapter  XII.  The  forms  are 
monumental  — simple,  rhythmical,  and  heroic  — yet  fundamentally 
true,  and  instinct  with  life.  The  head  in  particular  is  full  of  calm 
majesty,  very  broadly  painted,  but  thoroughly  natural  and  unconven- 
tional, almost  a portrait. 

[The  term  conventional  is  used  sometimes  in  a good,  sometimes  in 
a bad  sense.  In  its  former  acceptation  all  art  is  conventional ; but 
the  word  is  often  employed  disparagingly  to  indicate  a stilted,  false, 
and  lifeless  phase  of  art,  generally  the  academic  phase.] 

5. 

4 THE  TEMPTATION  ’ (FRESCO)  BY  RAPHAEL  SANZIO  (1483-1520). 

STANZE  OF  THE  VATICAN,  ROME. 

It  would  have  been  possible  to  illustrate  Raphael  more  compre- 
hensively by  such  monumental  compositions  as  the  4 Jurisprudence’ 
of  the  Vatican,  the  4 Heliodorus,’  or  the  4 School  of  Athens,’  which 
eloquently  reveal  his  loftier  and  more  stately  moods.  But  these  have 
been  so  frequently  reproduced  and  can  so  readily  be  consulted  that 
I have  given  the  preference  to  a less  familiar  fresco,  less  completely 
illustrative  of  the  master’s  widely-ranging  genius,  yet  entirely  char- 
acteristic of  one  side  of  it.  Xotwithstanding  her  “length  of  limb” 
could  anything  be  more  sweetly,  divinely,  peculiarly  Raphaelesque 
than  the  Eve?  In  all  his  moods  Raphael  is  supremely  harmonious  : 
he  is  the  musician  of  the  brush.  For  mere  melody  of  line  he  has  no 
peer,  unless  it  be  Andrea  del  Sarto  (148  7-1531),  when  he  painted 
the  4 Madonna  del  Sacco  ’ in  the  cloister  of  the  Annunziata  — a 
fresco  that  I had  hoped  to  include  in  my  repertory.  Such  men  as 
Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo  — if  men  they  can  be  called  — seem  to 
give  all  the  majesty  of  the  best  Byzantines  and  a great  deal  more, 
too.  For  the  student  who  would  study  44  composition,”  they  are  the 
authorities. 


6. 

‘MANSUETUDO’  (OIL-PAINTING)  BY  F.  PENNI  (1488  ?-1528),  AND 
GUILIO  ROMANO  (1492  ?-1546).  HALL  OF  CONSTANTINE,  VATICAN. 

This  illustration  is  given  to  show  the  deterioration  of  oil  painting 
on  plaster,  of  which  a description  is  given  on  p.  103,  chap.  X.  The 


150 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


figure  of  Mansuetudo  alone  is  painted  in  oil.  The  greater  part  of 
the  back-ground,  and  the  arm,  drapery,  book,  and  hand  to  the  right 
are  executed  in  fresco. 

Crowe  and  Cavalcaselle,  in  assigning  the  motives  that  induced 
Raphael  to  substitute  oil  for  fresco,  remark  that,  “ there  was  evi- 
dently an  impression  in  Raphael’s  mind  that  Sebastian’s  revival  of  a 
system  which  had  failed  at  Florence  in  the  days  of  Alessio  Baldo- 
vinetti,  might  now  be  attended  with  advantages  which  it  would  be 

7 o o 

desirabie  to  try.”  Life  of  Raphael,  vol.  ii,  p.  449. 

“ Alessio  Baldovinetti.  Born  in  1422,  he  lived  to  the  very  close 
of  the  century  [1499],  gaining  a name  for  the  minuteness  with  which 
he  studied  still  life  in  nature,  the  boldness,  more  than  the  success, 
with  which  he  introduced  the  old  tempera  varnish  amongst  the 
mediums  employed  in  wall  painting.”  Vasari  says  of  his  wall  paint- 
ings, that  they  were  “ sketched  in  (abbozzato)  in  fresco  and  retouched 
a secco,  the  colors  being  tempered  with  a mixture  of  yolk  of  egg,  and 
heated  vernice  liquida.  Baldovinetti  thought  that  this  tempera  would 
guard  the  painting  against  wet,  but  it  was  in  such  a measure  strong, 
that  when  too  heavily  laid  on,  it  scaled  off”  [C.  & C.  Hist,  of  Paint, 
in  Italy,  vol.  ii,  p.  372].  There  is  but  little  left  of  these  paintings 
to-day.  They  have  greatly  suffered  by  abrasion,  darkening,  blister- 
ing and  scaling.  Cennini  is  silent  concerning  the  nature  of  vernice 
liquida.  See  Mrs.  Merrifield’s  notes  thereon,  page  159.  She  thinks 
it  “ highly  probable  that  the  varnish  consisted  of  some  resin  dissolved 
in  linseed  oil.” 

Cennini  gives  the  following  directions  for  painting  in  oil  on  walls: 

“ Cover  your  wall  with  mortar,  exactly  as  you  would  do  when 
painting  in  fresco,  except  that  where  you  then  covered  but  a small 
space  at  a time,  you  are  now  to  spread  it  over  your  whole  work. 
Make  your  design  with  charcoal  and  fix  it  with  ink,  or  verdaccio  [a 
mixture  of  white,  ochre,  red  and  black  — a quiet  greenish  tone]  tem- 
pered. Then  take  a little  glue  much  diluted,  — a whole  egg  well 
beaten  in  a porringer,  with  the  milky  juice  of  the  fig  tree,  is  still  bet- 
ter. You  must  add  to  it  a glassful  of  clean  water.  Then  either 
with  a sponge  or  a pencil  without  a point,  very  soft,  go  once  over  the 
ground  on  which  you  are  going  to  paint,  and  leave  it  to  dry  for  one 
day  at  least.” 

“Vasari,  in  his  Introduction  to  the  Three  Arts,  teaches,  in  chapter 
XXII,  how  to  paint  in  oil  on  walls,  but  in  a very  different  manner 
from  this,  for  he  requires  that  the  wall  should  be  dry,  and  that  it 
should  have  a coat  of  linseed  oil,  and  then  a mixture  of  resin,  of  mas- 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


151 


tic,  and  of  fat  varnish.  He  also  teaches  another  method,  which  he 
had  tried  and  approved  of,  in  which  it  was  necessary  to  give  the  wall 
two  coats  of  the  intonaco,  but  he  always  recommends  that  the  wall 
should  be  perfectly  dry.  Here,  on  the  contrary,  Cennini  points  out 
a very  simple  method  of  painting  in  oil  on  damp  walls,  which  may  be 
painted  on  the  next  day.  It  concerns  the  modern  artist  to  determine 
by  experiments  which  is  the  best  mode.”  [Tambroni : from  Mrs.  Mer- 
rifield’s  translation  of  Cennini’s  Treatise , p.  141].  What  may  be  the 
actual  condition  of  wall  paintings  executed  in  either  or  both  of  these 
methods,  I am  not  in  a position  to  ascertain,  but  it  has  certainly 
fared  very  ill  with  oil  mural  paintings  in  general,  for  the  reasons 
given  in  chapter  X. 

7. 

4 JUPITER  AND  JUNO  ’ (FRESCO)  BY  ANNIBALE  CARRACCI  (1560- 
1609).  FARNESE  PALACE,  ROME. 

This  is  another  specimen  of  a well  preserved  series  of  frescos. 
Though  nominally  executed  by  the  Carracci  and  their  pupils,  by  far 
the  larger  portion  of  the  work  is  attributable  to  Annibale.  Here 
and  there  it  betrays  symptoms  of  academism,  which  grew  apace  and 
subsequently  proved  so  baneful.  The  generation  of  immortals  had 
passed  away,  and  art  was  on  the  wane.  But  propinquity  to  the 
great  epoch,  the  vitality  of  its  traditions,  and  inherited  faculties  gave 
to  their  successors  all  that  can  be  given  — save  genius.  (And  yet 
the  church  was  as  influential,  as  prodigal,  and  far  less  pagan  than  in 
the  days  of  Julius  and  Leo).  Among  their  successors  the  Carracci 
took  their  stand  as  reformers.  Even  during  the  life-time  of  Michael 
Angelo,  anatomical  exaggeration  and  the  pedantic  “mock  heroic” 
were  rampant.  It  was  the  aim  of  Ludovico  Carracci  (1553-1619), 
assisted  by  his  kinsmen  Agostino  (1557-1602),  and  Annibale,  to 
neutralize  these  bombastic  tendencies  by  reverting  to  the  best  models 
of  the  past,  to  the  works  of  Leonardo,  Michael  Angelo,  Raphael, 
Titian,  Correggio,  etc.,  to  extract  their  peculiar  essence  from  each, 
and  to  combine  them  in  a faultless  whole.  On  these  principles  they 
founded  their  celebrated  academy  at  Bologna.  The  result  of  this 
learned  eclecticism,  though  a great  improvement  on  what  it  sought 
to  antagonize,  was  naturally  convictionless  academism. 

Of  the  three  Carracci,  Annibale  was  the  most  independent  and 
ablest.  At  one  time,  and  before  his  style  was  definitely  formed,  he 
leaned  towards  the  sect  then  known  as  naturalisti.  The  composition 


152 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


of  the  ‘Jupiter  and  Juno’  is  irreproachable  — rythmical,  well-bal- 
anced, and  scholarly. 


8. 

‘recompense’  (oil painting)  BY  PAUL  VERONESE  (1528-1588). 

CEILING,  SALA  DEL  COLLEGIO,  DUCAL  PALACE,  VENICE. 

No  colorless  reproduction  can  adequately  represent  this  sumptuous 
painter.  Not  that  his  forms  are  without  dignity  or  style  ; for  his 
draughtmanship  is  both  easy  and  noble,  and  his  figures  have  a grand 
mien;  but  the  Venetians  were  not  the  champions  of  form,  as  were 
the  Florentines;  they  were  the  apostles  of  color.  Veronese  was  neither 
“deep  thinker  nor  moralist,”  and  therefore  less  heroic  than  Michael 
Angelo,  Raphael,  or  even  Titian,  but  he  was  essentially  a painter. 
Couture  ( Entretiens  d’ Atelier)  in  estimating  Veronese,  says : “ Let 
us  speak  of  his  method  of  painting.  It  is  not  that  of  Titian.  I do 
not  hesitate  to  say  that  it  is  the  painting  par  excellence;  there  is 
nothing  beyond  it;  it  is  the  apogee.  He  paints  with  a full  brush 
(En  pleine  pate)  and  alia  prima  ; he  employs  the  so-called  Venetian 
processes  only  for  certain  draperies,  and  with  so  much  frankness 
that  there  is  no  doubt  about  it.”  He  is  not  only  a great  painter,  but 
a great  decorator  as  well,  — some  hold  the  greatest.  His  color  is 
blonde  and  splendid ; his  effects  are  obtained  by  a learned  distribu- 
tion of  the  local  colors  — the  true  decorative  method  — not  by 
chiaro-oscuro.  In  his  time  when  Italian  painting  was  moribund,  the 
Venetian  school  was  still  vital.  Nevertheless  the  germs  of  deca- 
dence are  apparent  even  in  Veronese. 

The  accompanying  illustration  is  not  subject  to  the  reproach  made 
in  page  106,  chapter  X,  that  many  of  the  Venetian  mural  paintings 
have  the  character  of  easel-pictures. 


9. 

CEILING  IN  CHURCH  OF  S.  MARIA  DEL  ROSARIO,  OR  ‘i  GESUATI,* 
VENICE,  (FRESCO).  TIEPOLO  (GIOVANNI  BATTISTA,  1697-1770). 

There  is  a descent  from  Veronese  to  Tiepolo.  The  former,  sump- 
tuous and  luxuriant  in  his  mise  en  scene , is  contained  withal.  His 
foreshortenings  are  bold,  but  less  violent  than  they  were  subsequently, 
for  he  lived  in  the  grand  era.  Tiepolo  is  all  execution,  all  chic , all 
scintillation.  His  color  is  not  splendid  and  learned  like  Veronese’s, 
but  rather  commonplace,  though  sparkling.  He  depended  largely 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


153 


for  bis  effects  on  liis  brilliant,  sharp,  and  scenic  touch.  (See  p.  125, 
chap.  XII.)  His  handling  was  that  of  the  theatre.  Yet  in  spite  of 
his  startling  foreshortenings,  his  agitated  forms,  and  his  barocco 
taste,  we  cannot  but  admire  his  consummate  facility,  his  inexhaustible 
fancy,  his  splendid  bravura . This  unlicensed  reveler,  this  violent 
masquerader  of  the  brush  paints  as  his  people  sing,  as  other  people 
talk.  Tiepolo  once  made  a wager  — and  won  it  — that  he  would 
paint  in  ten  hours  the  twelve  apostles  receiving  the  communion  from 
Christ,  the  figures  to  be  half  the  size  of  life.  [For  a scholarly  esti- 
mate of  Tiepolo,  the  reader  should  consult  Charles  Blanc’s  Venetian 
Painters .] 

Tiepolo  has  made  many  converts  among  modern  painters.  For- 
tuny, who  was  unmoved  by  the  Sistine  Chapel,  greatly  admired  him. 
I once  heard  a group  of  the  Roman- Spanish  artists  discuss  the  paint- 
ings of  the  Vatican.  They  preferred  the  1 Communion  of  St.  Jerome,’ 
by  Domenichino  to  all  others. 

10. 

OIL  PAINTINGS  FOR  THE  DECORATION  OF  THE  LUXEMBOURG 
PALACE  (NOW  IN  THE  LOUVRE)  BY  PETER  PAUL  RUBENS 

(1577-1640). 

These  compositions  are  intended  to  illustrate  a statement  made  on 
page  106,  chapter  X.  But  whether  or  not,  from  the  quality  and  dis- 
tribution of  their  light  and  shade,  they  are  rather  easel  pictures  than 
mural  paintings,  they  testify  that  Rubens  was  gifted  with  that  exu- 
berant creative  power,  that  broad  and  generous  handling,  that  feeling 
for  ample  and  eloquent  forms  which  are  the  requisites  for  decorative 
painting.  His  work  is  a striking  exemplification  of  native  genius, 
strengthened  and  developed  by  a free  and  intelligent  study  of  Italian 
precedent. 


11. 

‘ MINERVE  ELEVANT  LE  GENIE  VERS  L’EMPYREE.’  DRAWING  IN 
BLACK  AND  WHITE  FOR  A CEILING,  BY  PRUD’HON  (PIERRE, 
1760-1825). 

This  simple,  poetic,  lovable  artist  was  a contemporary  of  David 
and  the  classic  school.  In  the  words  of  Charles  Blanc,  “he  observed 
this  great  movement  with  a smile,”  though  protesting  against  the 
methods  of  the  men  who  studied  statues  till  they  forgot  how  to  paint. 
Enabled  to  travel  in  Italy  by  a prize  gained  at  Dijon,  “ he  under- 


154 


MURAL  PAINTING. 


stood  Raphael,  loved  Leonardo,  but  studied  Correggio  by  preference,” 
as  his  works  clearly  evince.  He  was  not  uninfluenced  by  the  classi- 
cism of  his  day,  but  extracted  only  the  good  and  the  assimilable  from 
the  antique.  He  is  a sort  of  Greek  Correggio ; but  not  merely  that,  for 
his  own  pure,  sad,  and  tender  soul,  which  shunned  the  garish  light  of 
day,  and  sought  expression  in  a subdued  atmosphere,  is  embodied  in 
his  creations.  He  is  a chiaro-oscurist,  sees  by  light  and  shade,  and 
therefore  not  a great  decorator  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word ; yet 
the  nobility,  purity  and  simplicity  of  his  style,  eminently  fitted  it  for 
the  wall. 


12. 

‘ LES  SAINTES  PENITENTES.’  CHURCH  OF  S.  VINCENT  DE  PAUL, 
PARIS.  BY  HIPPOLYTE  FLANDRIN  (1809-1864). 

Flandrin  left  Lyons,  where  he  was  born,  in  1829,  and  entered  the 
atelier  of  Ingres  at  Paris.  The  relations  between  the  two  were  as 
close  as  that  of  master  and  pupil  in  the  days  of  Cennini.  Flandrin 
admired  and  venerated  Ingres,  who  was  sincerely  proud  of  his  eleve. 
The  Italian  masters  most  sympathetic  to  him  were  Giotto,  Angelico, 
and  Raphael.  “While  the  stanze  of  the  Vatican  [were]  to  his  mind 
the  most  absolute  expressions  of  pictorial  perfection ; while,  as  he 
repeatedly  would  affirm,  Giotto’s  frescos  in  S.  Maria  del  Arena,  or 
those  of  Fra  Angelico  in  the  Chapel  of  Nicholas  V,  ought  to  be  ‘ the 
very  breviary’  of  the  painter  of  religious  subjects,  Flandrin  none  the 
less  sought  daily  to  study  on  his  own  account,  and  adapt  the  lessons 
of  the  past  to  the  requirements  of  his  personal  feeling  and  the  wants 
of  the  present  day.”  ( Life  of  Flandrin,  London,  1875.)  His  rever- 
ence for  the  antique,  and  an  inborn  feeling  for  the  beautiful  tempered 
the  expression  of  Christian  austerity  with  grace.  Flandrin  did  not 
resemble  other  men ; so  sweetly  patient  was  he,  so  serene,  and  even 
humble,  yet  by  no  means  devoid  of  character  or  convictions,  for  he 
stoutly  championed  the  tenets  of  his  school.  The  reply  of  a sharp- 
tongued  female  model  to  the  fellow  student  who  asked  why  she  spared 
Flandrin  is  all  significant.  “0  in  quanto  a lui,  pare  proprio  la 
Madonna .”  (Oh,  as  to  him,  he  appears  to  be  the  very  Madonna 
herself). 

“He  neither  attained  the  masculine  grandeur  of  Poussin  (1594- 
1665)  nor  the  profound  and  pathetic  tenderness  of  Le  Sueur  (161 7— 
1655)  ; but  if  the  extent  of  his  works  is  considered,  their  character 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


155 


and  their  unity ; if  a comparison  is  made  of  a labor  so  vast  and  a 
fervor  so  sustained;  if  the  number  of  churches  he  has  decorated  and 
glorified  is  reckoned,  we  cannot  but  justly  call  the  artist  who  has 
decked  his  country  in  such  attire,  the  religious  painter  of  France.” 
(Pierre  Larousse,  Dictionnaire  Universel). 

The  frieze  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  was  christened  by  his  contem 
poraries  the  “ Panathenees  Cliretiennes.” 


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work  on  modern  domestic  architecture. 

HOMES  AND  ALL  ABOUT  THEM. 

By  E.  C.  Gardner.  710  pages,  illustrated,  $2.50. 

Invaluable  instructions  and  suggestions  as  to  interior  decoration, 
exterior  finish,  and  varied  forms  of  architecture. 


ART  FOLIAGE. 

By  J.  K.  Colling.  From  last  London  Edition.  1 vol.  Folio.  $10. 

THE  ELEMENTS  OF  HAND-RAILING. 

By  R.  J.  Sherratt.  Small  folio.  With  38  Plates.  $2.00. 

HOUSEHOLD  SANITATION. 

By  William  E.  Hoyt,  C.  E.,  S.  B.  Paper,  15  cts.  Cloth,  30  cts. 
An  address  delivered  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Sci- 
ences, in  January,  1886,  and  printed  by  special  request.  Mr.  Hoyt 
speaks  as  one  having  authority,  and  is  sure  to  be  listened  to  with  respect. 


VIOLLET-LE-DUC’S 

Discourses  on  Architecture.  Translated  by  Henry  Van  Brunt. 
With  18  large  Plates  and  no  Woodcuts.  Vol.  I.  8vo.  $5.  The  Same. 
Vol.  II.  With  Steel  Plates,  Chromos,  and  Woodcuts.  8vo.  $5. 


HANDBOOK  OF  GREEK  AND  ROMAN 
SCULPTURE. 

By  D.  Cady  Eaton,  formerly’ Professor  of  the  History  of  Art,  Yale 
College.  Second  edition,  enlarged  and  revised.  i2mo.  $2.  Pocket 
edition,  $1. 


WINCKELMANN’S  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT 

ART. 

Translated  by  Dr.  G.  H.  Lodge.  2 vols.,  8vo.  $9. 

With  75  fine  copper-plate  engravings.  Winckelmann  has  been  trans- 
lated into  five  languages,  as  the  most  important  work  on  ancient  aesthet- 
ics, and  the  annotations  of  German,  Italian  and  English  critics  are  at- 
tached to  this  edition. 

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the: 


OPEN  FIRE-PLACE, 

1 1ST  ALL  AGES. 


By  J PICKERING  PUTNAM,  Architect. 


With  300  Illustrations,  53  of  them  full-page.  $4.00. 

The  book  treats  of  the  Open  Fire-Place  from  an  artistic,  historical, 
and  constructive  or  practical  stand-point.  It  is  beautifully  and  elabo- 
rately equipped  with  over  300  illustrations,  which  include  many  of  the 
most  curious  and  interesting  chimney-pieces  of  ancient  or  modern  times ; 
among  the  most  fascinating  and  instructive  are  those  contributed  by  our 
American  architects. 

The  designs,  even  of  the  most  unimportant  accessories  are  made 
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lor or  as  a text  book  for  the  builder. 


LECTURES  ON  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF 
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Architects,  at  Mass.  Institute  of  Technology,  by  J.  Pickering  Putnam, 
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